Shippuden: Sitting on the White Picket Fence
by CrazyUchiha
Summary: Kai continues to struggle with her loyalties almost three years later after leaving to serve under Orochimaru. Things have truly changed for her. What will she do now? Rated M for language, violence, and in case of innuendo's.
1. Prologue

Kai quietly gathered a few of her belongings as the candle in her room flickered at the presence of someone at the door. Kai knew who it was, so she didn't look up, or stop packing.

"Where are you going now?" Sasuke asked, standing at the doorway. Kai slung her bag over her shoulder, smiling.

"Camping. I told you I like to get away now and then." She walked into the hallway, making him step to the side. "I'll be safe, I'm taking Curse."

"You never liked camping before." Sasuke said, crossing his arms.

"That was until we started living in literal caves." Kai said, giggling. Sasuke rolled his eyes as she poked him in the chest. "Besides, we've both changed." She said, almost sadly.

"Be careful." Sasuke called as she trotted down the hallway. She waved her hand and he walked away, letting out a sigh.

As she stepped out into the night air, she breathed in, filling her lungs with fresh air and releasing the stagnant air from before. Smiling, she cupped her hands and made an owl call. The crickets around her silenced as she listened for the familiar pounding off hoofbeats. She ran out, greeting the black beast as it came too her and swinging on it's back without stopping.

She leaned forward, wind blowing in their faces as they got farther away. She glanced back, before whispering to her best friend, Curse. "You know where to go." She said, wrapping his mane tighter around her hands. He winnied and stretched out as Kai let him travel at whatever pace he wanted.

This is what she loved the most. Galloping through the woods with her partner in crime, letting go of her worries, her training, everything that bothered her. The dull ache in her shoulder subsided the farther they got from the hideout. Kai made sure to leave in the early evening, making their arrival to their destination around midnight.

"I'm so glad we're at a hideout that's closer to the Village." Kai said to Curse, even though he wouldn't answer. She knew he was glad, too. It meant he wouldn't have to be loaded into the box she managed to attach to Daichi, her summon owl.

Kai wasn't supposed to be going to the Leaf Village. She went rogue with Sasuke a year ago, leaving everything behind. Yet, here she was. She had visited twice before. Kakashi caught her once, warned her and made sure she left before anyone else found out. She knew he ended up reporting it once she was gone, but she missed being there.

The mountains shone in the distance as a spotlight focused on a face next to the fourths. Kai grinned. In the time it had been since they were last here, they'd made progress on adding Tsunade-sama's face. Kai turned Curse toward the left, away from the main gate and up to the left side of the mountain. With the Hyuuga clan nearby, Kai had to be as quiet as possible in getting back in. There was no gate over here, and Kai was able to be under the cover of the trees without being spotted by the night guards above.

"Found it." Kai said as she pushed on the wall in front of her. A piece of it let go, and she quietly pushed it until she could set it against the wall with a hole big enough for her. Curse snorted and she quickly turned to give him the quiet face. He tossed his head. She pushed away more of the rocks, letting Curse get on his knees and crawl through. It was tight and it was scary but he trusted her and she was able to patch the wall back up.

As she turned around, she was greeted with degraded houses and litter. She took ahold of Curse, holding his mane as they walked through the streets. The Uchiha Compound was still standing, but Kai saw what was happening to it. As they walked, she made sure to avoid the house she grew up in. Just being in this side of town was bringing back memories. The house was out of the way anyway.

Exiting the compound was harder, as Kai put her hood up and wrapped a cloak around her so no one would see her hair or her crest. Curse was quiet next to her, and Kai took streets that were empty, with parents and their children sleeping at this hour.

"You know, I miss being here." Kai said quietly, observing the different houses. She made her way over to the main gate, but avoided the main street. The only bad thing about being on this side of the village was that she couldn't get to the house she finished growing up in. That house was not cleaned out.

"If I took to the roofs…" She said quietly, before turning around holding a kunai in her hand. "Shit."

ANBU surrounded her. When did they get here? She didn't even feel their chakras because she was too busy looking at everything. She did a head count. Four of them. She looked up to spot a fifth on the roof. They all held kunai's in their hands, except for one who had a sword. Kai reached for her own. "Curse, run." Curse snorted and took off. The ANBU charged her and Kai started deflecting their attacks, her sharingan ablaze.

Each Kunai that hit her distracted her from the sword as she barely managed to block it from slicing her legs. She pushed electric chakra into her sword as best as she could and pushed them away. She breathed heavy. _I need to avoid using things I don't know how to do."_ She muttered, jumping up and heading into the same direction as Curse.

She heard an awful cry, and she recognized it immediately. Her heart pounded harder as she tossed a paper bomb on the ground to try and distract the other ANBU. She got closer to an alleyway where two more ANBU had Curse cornered, ropes tightened around his neck as he reared and tried desperately to break away. He bucked and one of the ANBU tossed another rope, putting his back feet together and putting him on the ground.

"Get the HELL away from my horse!" Kai yelled, jumping down on top of the ANBU, which caused the one with two ropes to let go, but leaving them tight around him. The other ANBU didn't move as Kai went forward, but she dodged as one above her came down.

There were four ANBU's and now there were six. Kai muttered as they surrounded her, separating her from her horse. Kai held her ground, letting the sword sit in position. As they attacked her, she took to the defense once more. The one ANBU with a sword had a lighter sword, which gave him the advantage as Kai canceled out another's kunai, only to be unable to block the attack from the sword. It grazed her side and she hissed in pain.

She charged him, their swords meeting and their faces close. "You're going to lose, just give up now." The ANBU said.

"In your dreams." Kai growled, pushing off of him and throwing a Kunai with her other hand. The ANBU glanced at each other before turning back to face Kai. She welcomed them with open arms.

The sun rose slowly around them as Kai's sword clattered to the ground. She was sweating and her body was exhausted. She could feel blood coming from different wounds and her one eye was almost swollen shut. Breathing hard and feeling the pulsating Cursemark on her shoulder, she fell to her knees as the ANBU quickly tied her hands together.

"Well, what do we have here." A man said. Kai squinted, looking up to the street. The man stepped closer and her blurry vision subsided. He walked with a cane and Kai remembered who he was. He came closer, looking over the situation. Kai was tied up and so was Curse, who cried out desperately to help his human. Danzo snickered.

"Looks like you lost pretty badly." He said, stepping around her to look at Curse. Curse snorted and made a noise Kai hadn't heard him make before. She was almost certain it was a growl. He struggled against the ropes. Danzo looked at him with a curiosity that scared Kai.

"How sweet. You fought for him, and he's still fighting for you." Danzo kicked him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kai shrieked as Curse cried out. Danzo turned, raising an eyebrow. He looked at her, calculating. She struggled against the rope. An ANBU grabbed her shoulder and she hissed. It felt dislocated. Something else she'd have to add to the list of wounds.

Danzo looked at the ANBU standing close to him, the one with the sword. "You, get rid of the horse."

"No!" Kai struggled desperately against the rope, tears streaming down her face. The swordsman raised his arm up above Curse. Kai used the last of her strength to break free of the rope and she stumbled as fast as she could in front of the man, using the last kunai she had in her pocket to block the sword. She breathed heavy, struggling to keep her balance as her vision blurred again. Her head felt like a rock.

"Stupid girl." Danzo said, watching as Kai fell to her knees under the pressure of the sword. She looked back at Curse, who was breathing heavy from the struggle. It occurred to her that he might have injured himself trying to get out of the ropes. Kai let her arm fall, shaking.

The ANBU stopped the sword at her head, looking at Danzo. Danzo just watched. The ANBU raised his arm again but this time to push Kai to the side. Kai put her arm up in an attempt to block it.

She was ready for the hit but it never came. Kai blinked, looking up at the man that was standing in front of her. Her arms came down to her side slowly. Behind her, Curse stood up and she saw that the ropes holding him down were now cut. She breathed a sigh of relief when he stood.

"Hatake, this does not involve you." Danzo hissed.

"Kakas-" He cut her off, and she turned her eyes away. He had warned her before when he caught her. It would only make sense that he'd show up now.

"What you do with Kai is up to you." He said, pockets in his hands as if he didn't just walk into an ANBU ambush. "All I ask is that I can take the horse."

Danzo narrowed his eyes, watching as Curse lowered his head to Kai. She leaned back to meet him but did not bother to stand.

"Why should we let you take the beast?"

"Because if you kill him, you'll end up killing her in the process." Kakashi said, glancing back. She looked at the ground, not in shame but because the world was currently spinning. "She'll just become an empty shell. Which, if you want information from her, won't be a good thing."

"I'll be telling the elders about you interfering." Danzo said, glaring.

Kakashi just nodded, taking that as a yes. He turned around and reached out a rope to Curse. He put his head in it willingly, before looking at Kai as if she was coming.

"Go on, bud. You'll be safe." Kai muttered, petting him one last time. Curse nickered to her as Kakashi pulled him away, out of the alleyway.

Kai watched as he turned the corner, and as soon as they left, she let herself be defeated. An ANBU grabbed her once again, putting a seal on her back as she fainted.

 _I'm sorry… Nii-san… Otou-san…_ She thought as she finally slipped into unconsciousness.

Kai's head was pounding. She groaned, rolling her head and reaching up to hold it. When her arms didn't move she muttered in frustration. Attempting to open her eyes made her feel like throwing up. Interrogation rooms were not the place you wanted to be when you had a concussion. She managed to peak her eyes open enough to take in her surroundings.

"I see you're awake now." A voice said. She closed her eyes again, the pounding in her head getting worse with another added stimulus.

"The light… can you like, turn it off?" Kai said.

"I'm afraid not."

Kai groaned again. She opened her eyes to see Ibiki Morino stood in front of her, and she shrunk at his towering posture. She forgot how scary he was in person.

"You were such a model student in the academy, and you passed the second chunin exam with flying colors." He walked toward her, looking down at her. "Now why are you in this spot right now?"

Kai didn't answer. Her head hurt too bad. Ibiki watched her carefully before continuing. "What were you doing in the village last night?"

"Visiting…" Kai said quietly.

"You deflected a year ago and you say you were just visiting?" Ibiki slammed his hand down,

causing Kai to jump and squeak.

"I wasn't trying to spy, and I wasn't trying to cause any problems." Kai said quickly. "I just wanted to visit, feel the energy and just get away for awhile."

Ibiki watched her carefully as she spoke. While she didn't seem to have any malicious intent, it wasn't worth risking. Not with Orochimaru being a figure in her life right now.

"If you didn't want to leave this behind then you should have never left. You can't have both in your life." Ibiki said. Kai opened her eyes more and looked at him, going to speak again and deciding otherwise. He wouldn't understand.

Ibiki left, leaving the light on Kai. She let out a small whine as she closed her eyes again, wishing for sleep, or unconsciousness. Something to get rid of the pain.

She woke up in a jail cell, her arms wrapped neatly in a straight jacket and multiple seals on it. Her wounds were treated and the severe ones healed. Her eye was still swollen but she could see better out of it.

She looked around to see if anyone else was around, but she didn't see anyone. She could barely feel the ANBU around her, without using chakra. She muttered to herself, her body aching and refusing to let her move.

"Awake, I see."

Kai looked up to see Danzo standing there. Two of the elders stood with him. _So much for spitting_

 _on his shoes._ Kai thought.

"Everyone gets so excited when I wake up." Kai said curtly as she turned away.

The elders went to speak but Danzo raised his hand. Kai gave an apologetic look to them over her shoulder.

"Depending on your behavior, you will be here for a week and then we will move you as we see fit. However I would not expect to be released any time soon." Danzo said, an evil grin on his face.

Kai didn't react, but inside she wanted to cry. How did she get herself in this situation? Being an idiot, that's how. She thought about Orochimaru and Sasuke and Kabuto. They were probably wondering where she went. Orochimaru probably knew. She couldn't go back. If she did, she'd be dead. Danzo turned and walked away, the elders following him.

Had it been a week yet? Kai wasn't sure. Her head didn't feel as swollen and her wounds were mostly healed by now. Her eye bruised and turning colors she forgot bruises turned into. With the straightjacket on, she wasn't able to do much to keep her body in shape and she could almost feel the muscles fading underneath her skin. It angered her to no end, a whole year of torturous training was fading from her.

She heard the door open. Looking up, a bookbag came in at her head and she moved to the side and let it fall on the ground. The ANBU who tossed it in was accompanied by another ANBU. One came in while the other guarded the door. He walked to Kai, which made her have flashbacks of Orochimaru's hideout. Despite knowing she was safe, her instincts pushed her against the wall, away from the ANBU. He seemed taken aback, but he proceeded, this time speaking.

"We're taking the straightjacket off. Your bookbag is there, but we took out your weapons." He said, turning Kai around as he undid the straps. "Orders are that if you act out once we're to put you back in this."

"Right…" Kai muttered, stretching her arms as he took them out. The sense of comfort from her arms being close together was gone, but at the same time her heart fluttered at the freedom of movement.

The ANBU walked out and they locked the door and were gone. Kai took the bag from the floor and sat down, looking through what was in there.

Ita.

She breathed a sigh of relief, that the last thing she had from her eldest brother was still intact. She held it underneath her arm as she kept going through. She hissed in annoyance when she saw pages of her notebook scattered in the bag. Of course they went through it. She logged every jutsu she knew and every jutsu she saw. They probably were going to think she was giving it to Orochimaru. It seemed like all the pages were there, so she put them back together and double checked everything else.

The only other thing that was missing was her headband. She sighed, knowing that they more than likely were stripping her of her status. When she deemed all was good otherwise, she pulled out the sketchbook she kept and started drawing.

The sound of keys clattering woke Kai up from her slumber. Groggily, she turned to look at who was coming in. It had been a few months now, she assumed. An ANBU stood at the gate, holding it.

"Get your things together."

Kai blinked at him, or her? Either. She pulled herself out of bed, throwing on her jacket and pants. One blessing she had was being allowed to wear whatever. Yet her clothes were tattered now. She washed them as best as she could in this place. She put together her backpack and walked to the door.

"Follow me."

"Right." Kai said quietly, stepping through the door and following the ANBU further into the prison. A few of the other prisoners called to her. She tried to ignore the cries of traitor, stupid, and other things they said. The ANBU made no movement other than walking forward.

Walking was nice, however. Kai let her legs stretch as she changed stride lengths, enjoying the freedom to move as she pleased. They arrived to a door where she was pushed inside. She looked around and saw ANBU along the walls, with Danzo, the Elders, and Tsunade standing there waiting for her. Kai smiled at Tsunade but only quickly. Tsunade made no response.

"Kai Uchiha, we brought you here today to discuss the terms of your punishment." The man said, pulling out a paper. "From this day forward, you will be put on probation."

"Wait, seriously?" Kai said, nearly dropping her bag. Her face lit up. The elders stopped, and a glare from Danzo reminded her that now was not the time.

"As I was saying…" The man continued. "You will be put on probation. Under these terms, you are not to leave the village unless under orders and accompanied by an approved ninja. For the first week, you will be watched carefully. If needed, that will continue. During this time you are not to leave your house unless ordered and accompanied. Do you agree so far?"

"Yes sir." Kai said, standing still.

"Until further notice, you will not be allowed to perform any jutsu and a seal will be placed on you to prevent it."

Kai went to speak but held her mouth shut. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything. It was one thing to keep her under house arrest, but no jutsu?

"When we deem it time, the seal will be released and you will be put on D-rank missions with a designated officer." The man stopped, putting the paper away. "Anything you do that we see as treason will bring you back here. Do you understand?"

"Yes…" Kai said, knowing she didn't have any other choice. "I understand."

"Then, Kai Uchiha, you are free to leave. An ANBU will take you home, and we will contact you when we are ready to lift your house arrest. A ninja will be by this week to take you for any supplies you may need, for now we have some waiting for you."

"Thank you." Kai said. She looked at Tsunade, curious if she would speak. Tsunade stepped forward as the man stepped back.

"As soon as your house arrest is lifted, you are to report to me, and we will speak further." She said, before nodding to the ANBU. The one that brought her here came forward with a seal. "We'll place the seal now. Just lift your hair."

"Right." Kai moved her hair, letting the ANBU closer. He placed the seal with one hand, did some hand signs, and Kai gasped as she felt her body weaken slightly. Her cursemark throbbed in protest to the lack of Chakra going to it.

"You may have some trouble with the cursemark, but in time that will ease." Danzo said. Kai didn't look at him, knowing she would glare if she did. She stood up straight again as the ANBU member moved back to his spot.

"You can go home now." Tsunade said. "Your horse is waiting for you there." Kai let herself smile, thinking about Curse. Being here, she missed him terribly.

"Thank you." Kai bowed, before looking over where another ANBU member stood waiting. She made sure she had her bag and followed him. They walked back to her house.

The walk back was the only time Kai didn't ever feel welcomed here. As they walked she saw people turn to each other, whispering. A few people pointed. Her face fell as they walked. She thought she spotted Lee, but he didn't acknowledge her. She let out a sigh and kept her head down. Her house was just up ahead.

"Here's your key, we changed the locks for you." The ANBU handed her the key as they stood in front. She took it and thanked him before he took off. Kai walked in the door, waving her hand as she coughed. Dust flew in front of her but eventually settled.

"I guess a week of house arrest isn't bad when you have a years worth of cleaning to do." She muttered, switching on a light. The house was mainly one room, with the kitchen off to the side and two beds on the other side. A back door sat next to the bed in the middle, which was neatly made. The other bed, which sat in the corner, had covers thrown on it. Kai bit her lip, thinking about how they left in such a rush. On the table to her right was a box of groceries. She set her bag down, looking through it quickly before rushing outside.

"Curse?" She called. She couldn't see him. She looked around, until she head a whinny and turned around just in time for him to knock her over. "Dude, seriously?" She laughed, getting up and wiping off her pants. Curse rubbed his head on her. She hugged him tightly around his neck.

"God I missed you." She sighed. Stepping back, she looked him over. "Kakashi-sensei took good care of you, huh?" Kai smiled. Curse tossed his head and she laughed.

"Alright, let's go see the state of your barn then." Kai walked over to the gate of the small pasture they had, waving Curse in and shutting the gate behind her. She walked into the barn and flicked on the light. It was just a small barn, with two stalls, one which door was closed. She opened it and walked inside. A bin sat with a note. She tilted her head, picking up the note.

 _Wasn't sure what you were feeding him, but this is what he's had the last few months._

She smiled, recognizing Kakashi's handwriting. She peaked in and saw that it was a grain similar to what she had been giving him, but the more expensive kind. She shook her head and looked up at the whiteboard they had. There were a few notes that she had left, she noticed they were old. One was from Sasuke, telling her the next time she slept in she was making breakfast. She rolled her eyes. A few from Kakashi were random notes, when he bought the grain, days Curse didn't eat and day's he ordered hay. One note had a date followed by the words 'next hay delivery'.

"You gave Kakashi-sensei a run for his money, didn't you?" Kai called. Curse nickered from the doorway.

"Alright, well let's get you some hay." Kai grabbed a few flakes next to her, locked the gate, and headed out to the pasture.

That night, Kai laid in bed staring at the ceiling. She glanced at her clock, 2am. Groaning, she rolled over and stared at the empty bed near her. Sasuke should be sleeping there. Yet she was here and he was with Orochimaru. She wondered if they switched hideouts again. She wondered how Orochimaru took to her leaving.

"Screw this, I'm going on the roof." Kai muttered as she tossed off her blanket and held it as she stood. She grabbed Ita and her pillow and walked to the back door.

Jumping onto the roof with the chakra seal was harder than she expected and she muttered in annoyance when she fell. She went to the side where there were boxes and scrambled up the side of the roof.

As she settled down, she sighed in relief as her eyes began to tire. "Finally, some sleep…" She yawned. She laid back on the pillow and put the blanket over her body. As her mind started to drift she heard rustling in the woods behind her.

"ANBU, probably." She said to herself, raising her arm and waving her hand to let them know she knew what she was doing. If she couldn't sleep she'd just get cranky anyway.

"I'm so bored." Kai laid on the back of Curse, staring at the sky. It had been three days now. The house was cleaned, more hay was delivered, and she fixed things that needed fixed. She raised her hand up, wanting to catch a cloud.

Sighing, she put her hand back down and sat up. She was facing away from Curse's head.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how you ride a horse."

Kai jumped, nearly falling off Curse. She looked over to see Kakashi standing there. "Ah! Kakashi-sensei!" She slid off Curse and hopped the fence to meet him. "I should thank you."

"What you did wasn't smart, but I know you didn't do it with bad intentions." Kakashi said. Kai nodded, glancing back at Curse.

"Thank you for taking care of him."

"He's a good horse. Danzo was just trying to get to you." Kakashi said. "And it's in the past, anyway." He smiled.

"What are you doing here, anyway sensei?"

"Well, I heard you needed to get some groceries. I'm off today so I figured I'd take you."

Kai looked at him a minute before smiling. "I'll go get my money." She ran into the house and came back out, checking how much she had and making a mental note of what she needed.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked, already having pulled out his book. Kai nodded.

"Hai!"

Kai tried to hold her head high as they walked through the streets, stopping as she spotted things she needed. Yet the longer they were out, the more her head dropped. The looks didn't stop, people went out of their way to avoid her, and there were still whispers.

"It'll stop soon enough." Kakashi said, still reading his book. Kai looked up at him.

"Right…" Kai said, looking back down. "Oh, I need one last thing."

"Lead the way."

Kai headed to the last stop, a tea place. She hurried in and came back out with a bag of dried tea leaves. She added it to her bags and looked at Kakashi. As much as she wanted to go back, she also wasn't looking forward to being stuck at home again.

"I'm done, then." Kai said.

"Alright." Kakashi put his book away. "We have one more place to go, however." He smiled. Kai tilted her head.

"Where?"

"You'll see." Kakashi started walking. Kai followed him, unsure but not complaining.

"Kakashi-sensei, I'm only supposed to be out getting groceries." Kai said as they stopped in front of Ichiraku ramen. Kakashi chuckled in response.

"I already okay'd it. My treat."

"Are you sure?" Kai surveyed the chairs. No one else was there.

"If you don't want to eat, I can take you home." Kakashi said. Kai's stomach grumbled in response.

"I guess we'll eat then." Kai giggled. She lightened up and lifted the cloth to sit down.

The next day Kai was more appreciative of going home. They didn't stumble upon any of her friends, and she sort of wished they did. It would have been nice to know how they were doing. She stuck the hose in the water bucket she had for Curse and let the water fill.

"You're house arrest is up. Please report to Lady Hokage as soon as possible."

Kai turned to see an ANBU just as he disappeared. "Wait, already?" She said. Too late. She looked over at Curse, who was grazing nearby.

"Curse, we're going on a trip." She grinned. Curse lifted his head, ears pointed as he chewed the grass still in his mouth. Kai finished filling the bucket, turned the water off, and jumped onto Curse's back.

"Alright, to Tsunade-sama." Kai said. Curse circled the pen a few times before jumping the fence and trotting to the Hokage's office. Kai didn't focus on the people around her as the traveled. Instead she let her heart flutter at the idea of being able to roam the village free again. She wondered why they agreed to end it so early.

They stopped at the doors and Kai stood Curse in between buildings where he was out of the way. "Now stay here and don't move, okay?" Kai said. Curse knickered in response. She turned around and headed up the stairs.

The walls were all to familiar as she let her hand brush alongside it. A few other ninjas walked by her, but they didn't stop. She got to the top floor and stood in front of Tsunade's door. She knocked twice.

"Come in."

Kai opened the door and closed it quietly behind her. She smiled at Shizune, who stood off to the

side holding TonTon, their adorable pig. "You requested to see me?" Kai asked.

"Yes." Tsunade put the paper that was in front of her to the side. "I'm sure you heard that your house arrest is up."

Kai nodded. "Yes, but Tsunade-sama, it hasn't been a week yet."

"We understand." Tsunade smiled. "Last night, you proved your willingness to obey what you were told and because of that we agreed to lift the house arrest. You're still not allowed to use any jutsu but you can resume training that doesn't require chakra."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Kai smiled. "If I remember correctly, didn't you say I would be put on missions now as well?"

"Yes, which means you'll be needing this back." Tsunade opened a drawer and pulled out a headband. Kai's headband. Kai stepped forward and took it gratefully, tying in back on her head. It felt nice to wear it again. Tsunade watched. "You never took that off, did you?"

"No ma'am." Kai said, shifting her weight onto her other leg. It felt sort of awkward admitting it.

"Well, back to the missions. For the time being, you will be doing these missions as needed with Kakashi. When he is unable to, another will come with you." Tsunade said. "Your first one is tomorrow. A garden needs weeded."

Kai had to suppress a groan. Tsunade eyed her before continuing. "Kakashi will meet you at your house in the morning. The better your work ethic, the sooner we will be able to remove the seal and let you resume your normal training. Understood?"

"Understood." Kai said. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."

"You're welcome Kai." Tsunade answered and Kai turned to walk out the door. "Kai, one last question."

"Yes…?" Kai turned around.

"Now that you are back here, are you happy?"

Kai pondered for a moment. She wanted to be honest and say no but she worried how she would take it.

"Honestly, no. And not because of the village." Kai added quickly. "I love being here, but it's not the same without my brother. Things would be different if he were here as well…"

Tsunade held her hands together as she leaned her chin forward, listening. She nodded. "Thank you, Kai."

Kai bowed and walked quickly out the door to avoid any other information being spilt. She clutched her hands together and she headed out the door and to Curse.

"Let's go for a walk, buddy. Around the village." She patted him on the neck as she got on his back. He snorted and walked off. Kai looked around and took a deep breath.

She was on her own now.


	2. Chapter 1

_One…_

 _Two…_

 _THREE!_

Kai leaped in the air. A tree branch hung over her, an apple dangling teasingly. With a strong leap she grabbed the apple. Landing on her feet, she grinned. "Lunch is served!" she said, looking over her shoulder. "Hey Sas-" cutting herself off she looked at the ground. He wasn't here.

No, Sasuke was currently still with Orochimaru. Kai was back in the Leaf Village. Sighing, she started walking. She took small bites of her apple, not really interested anymore. Her feet wandered, as they have been for the last year. Being that she was on probation, she wasn't allowed to leave the walls unless she was with ANBU.

"Did you hear?" An elderly lady said as Kai walked past. She tuned them out, not paying attention as she walked. Gossip was prominent in the leaf village. She didn't see a point in listening to it. "Naruto's back!"

Kai stopped walking. She tuned it out but hearing Naruto's name brought her back to reality. He's back? Seriously? She shook her head. No, it was probably a rumour. She kept walking.

As she walked, she heard more and more people talking about Naruto's return. She realized that this wasn't a rumour, but the truth. Adrenaline pumped through her as she realized she could see her teammate for the first time in two years. Breaking into a run, she headed for where they were last seen walking. To the Hokage Building.

Her feet went faster and faster as she started to pick up the strong chakra of the returning teammate. She ran inside and through the hallways. The door to Tsunade's office was open. She heard laughter as Naruto spoke. She didn't know what they were talking about.

Using the siding of the doorway to stop herself, Kai breathed heavily. The room went silent and Tsunade's eyes narrowed. Kai stood up straight before Shikamaru and Temari could turn around.

"Gomenasai, Tsunade-sama." Kai said bowing slightly. "I heard…"

"You're fine, Kai." Tsunade smiled a bit. She couldn't let Kai feel bad for wanting to see her teammate. Naruto turned to look at the new visitor. Kai swears his mouth reached the floor when he saw who it was. Kai put her hands in her hoodie pockets and smiled.

"Long time no see." She said.

"Kai! I thought-" Naruto was cut off by Tsunade.

"She's back. It's a long story that she can tell you when she wants." Kai nodded thankfully at her.

"Sasuke's-" He started again.

"He's fine. I didn't leave because of something happening to him." Kai said. She could feel Jiraiya's eyes boring into her soul. He must have heard what happened then. She kept her eyes on everyone else.

"You're not my opponent, are you?" Naruto asked. Kai shook her head.

"I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Your opponent is out there." Tsunade pointed. Naruto walked over to the window. Kai stepped into the office area and stood next to Sakura. They smiled faintly at each other and then watched Naruto.

"Kakashi-Sensai!" Naruto said. Kai blinked. "Oh! I have something for you!" Naruto said jumping out of the window and out of sight. Sakura and Kai walked over to peek out. Sure enough, Kakashi was sitting on the roof. He had just put his book away. Kai turned and leaned against the window, facing the inside. She heard something about a book, then an overly excited Kakashi.

"Alright Kakashi, that's enough." Tsunade said. Kai giggled a bit. Her and Sakura moved out of the way as Naruto and Kakashi started to walk over.

"Wait, are you my opponent?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

"Eh, Not quite." Kakashi answered, following Naruto back into the office. Kakashi sat on the windowsill. He glanced at Tsunade, who nodded. Kakashi turned back to Kai and the others. "Sakura, it's been a while." Kakashi said. She smiled in response.

"Alright, my opponent…" Kakashi said. The Team 7 that stood in front of him held their breath. "Naruto. Sakura… and Kai."

"Wait!" Kai said. Her arms went out in an exasperated stance. "Why me? I'm-"

"You're part of Team 7 still, and you'll participate." Tsunade said. Kai nodded, putting her arms back at her side.

"I want to see how much you have all grown. I'll decide your future status based on your performance."

Kai glared back at Shikamaru, who had chuckled at Tsunade's sentence. "Well, we should probably get started." Kakashi said. "However, Naruto, you just got back. You should rest a while." He smiled.

"I'm ready right now!" Naruto replied. Kakashi turned halfway out of the window.

"Let's meet at the training grounds later." He put his hand up, waved, and disappeared in smoke.

Team 7 (minus Sasuke), Temari, and Shikamaru walked on one of the main streets. Kai walked next to Sakura and Naruto, with Temari and Shikamaru behind.

"We can discuss our plan while Kakashi-sensai's reading his book." Sakura said. Kai and Naruto nodded in agreement. Naruto then snuck back to Temai and Shikamaru, causing them to stop walking.

"So… you two on a date?" He said, nudging them with his elbow. There was a glint in his eye.

"No!" Temari said. "Why would I go on a date with this guy?" Naruto stood up tall. Kai and Sakura walked back towards them.

"We're preparing for the Chunnin exams. I was put in charge and I need to show her around." Shikamaru said. "Speaking of, Naruto, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You're the only one from our class that isn't a chunnin." Shikamaru responded. Kai could see the gears in Naruto's brain stop moving. She giggled a bit.

"Sakura? Kai?"

"Yup!" Sakura answered.

"Well, unofficially as of right now." Kai said. Naruto blinked. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Kai turned back to Shikamaru, wanting to draw the attention away from her. She would have to tell Naruto some time or later about why she was really back in the Leaf Village.

Later came fast than expected for Kai. They stood outside the training grounds. Sakura against the fence, and Naruto pacing. Kai herself had taken it upon her to jump onto the top of the fence.

"Agh, is Kakashi-sensai going to make us wait forever?" Naruto said, raising a fist. Kai rolled her eyes and front flipped off the fence.

"It's Kakashi-sensai, he's usually late." Kai said. Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Well he needs to show a little improvement... " Naruto said, sitting on the ground. A poof of smoke on the fence above them, and Kakashi was there. He held his hand up in a wave. Kai smiled faintly.

Immediately Kakashi tried to give an excuse. The three in front of him yelled at him for lying, and they walked to the grounds.

The three tree stumps were lined up, where they have been for a while. Kai looked at them, and for a second, she felt the presence of her old self. The one not on probation. The one that was innocent and had never heard of the ANBU jail, let alone spent a month in it. She looked at Kakashi, waiting for directions.

"This place, kinda takes me back." Naruto said, looking around. Sakura held her hand to her chest.

"Oh, come to think of it, this was your first training ground, wasn't it?" Kakashi said. He was reading his book, but he made the effort to look up at them.

Naruto and Sakura began to look down, and feel sad. Kai awkwardly rubbed her shoulder. A three man squad that she had intruded on as a ten year old wanting to be like her big brother. Graduating and making the effort to be on Team 7 with her only relative. She caused some of the grief Sakura and Naruto started to feel just now.

"We had Sasuke with us, back then, didn't we?" Kakashi said slowly. Kai looked up at him. The emotions she felt from someone speaking of Sasuke made her want to cry, throw up, and run all at once, despite it being physically impossible. Kai thought back to how she had welcomed her brother to the Sound Village with open arms. It made her feel sick, that she had allowed all this to happen.

Kakashi held up the bells, breaking the solemn mood. "Well, let's see how much you guys have grown." He said, his book in the other hand. "You haven't given up on Sasuke, have you?"

"Of course not!" Naruto said. "Kai came back, so Sasuke will too!" Kai facepalmed mentally and turned away. She didn't come back, she was forced to stay. Kakashi gave her a glance.

"The rules are the same." Kakashi spoke. "Just get the bells from me. No matter how you do it."

"Come at you with the intention to kill." Naruto completed his phrase.

"Or else you won't get the bells." Sakura said. Kai felt even more out of place. The two of them were such a great pair.

"Exactly." Kakashi smiled. "You have until Sunrise tomorrow." He put his book away.

Naruto and Sakura prepared themselves, and Kai zipped up her jacket fully.

"What's the matter Kakashi-sensai, not going to read your book this time?" Naruto asked.

"Or did you finish it already?" Sakura added.

"Nope, thought I would save the fun for later. Besides," Kakashi's hand reached for his headband. "I think I might have to be a bit more serious this time." His sharingan shown in the now darkening sky. Kai gulped. Here goes nothing.

"Let's go!" Naruto charged.

 _Hello all! Thank's for reading. These chapters will be written as I watch Naruto Shippuden from Episode 1. Obviously, Kai won't be involved in everything Naruto is, so some things will be skipped. At one point… well, that's a spoiler. I won't ruin it for you. :)_

 _The preface will explain why she is on Probation, and what all occurred when she 'returned' back to the leaf!_


	3. Chapter 2

_I'm typing these as I watch the episodes in order! Not everything will be exact, because well, that's almost copyright. I don't own Naruto. I only own the idea of and character: Kai Uchiha._

"Let's go!" Naruto said. He threw shuriken at Kakashi, who ducked and threw some in return. Naruto jumped into the air to dodge. Kakashi then threw more at Naruto. Stuck in the air, Naruto grinned.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" He said, making the well known handsign. A clone appeared next to him. The shuriken moved closer, and the cloned Naruto grabbed the real one, and pulled him out of harm's way. While it all seemed to happen in slow motion, it took mere seconds.

They landed on the ground. Kakashi stood. One of them turned into a large shuriken, and Naruto grabbed it and proceeded to move into a throwing motion. As the one clone transformed, Kakashi had maneuvered himself so he was behind Naruto. He grabbed Naruto's arm and put his other hand on his head, pushing his head downward with just enough force he couldn't move.

"Not bad." Kakashi said. Behind him, another Naruto stood with a kunai pointed at Kakashi's back. Kai blinked, standing next to Sakura. When did…?

"But you're still as impatient as ever Naruto. I haven't even said start yet." Kakashi said. Naruto grinned.

"Well, I guess we better start then." Kakashi didn't move. "Ready… Start!" and he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Aw darn!" Naruto groaned. "I've been tricked!"

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura said. Kai giggled. Her senses were alert and focused, despite her carefree mood.

The sun was starting to set. Sakura looked around, where could Kakashi be? Kai watched her. Suddenly, Sakura punched the ground, cause a crack in the dirt, which shot up all sorts of dirt, rocks, and pebbles. Kai covered her face from the sudden attack. Naruto's eyes grew huge, and Kai smiled. She had seen Sakura's strength already after being here.

The ground was all tore up, and Kakashi's face could be seen in the rumage. His eyes were also huge. No one was expecting the strength Sakura had just displayed.

"Kakashi Sensei, I found you." Sakura said with a grin. Kakashi jumped onto one of the many tore up rocks. He put himself into attacking position. The bells rang by his side and Kai perked up. The bells, she had to help get them.

The sun was almost fully set now. The four ninja were in the woods. Naruto hid behind a tree as Kakashi ran into sight. His eyes found Naruto quickly. He turned, and spotted Sakura behind another tree. Kai, on the other hand, was above. He glanced up and spotted her as well. Very well hidden, Kakashi was proud. It was much different from the other time.

Kunai came flying out to Kakashi and Naruto came out of the bushes after him. Kakashi jumped away from the kunais, pulling out his own. They met midway, kunais clashing. As they went the opposite ways, Kakashi turned and threw more Kunai at Naruto. Naruto managed to dodge them by using a branch to flip. He landed, and Sakura came out of hiding. Kai tried to jump on Kakashi, but he was prepared. She held out her kunai in front of her and he met it with his. She jumped back next to Naruto and Sakura. He stood. "Let me teach you three something." he said. "Shinobi battle skills, part one… taijutsu."

He charged at Naruto, and proceeded to fight. Naruto jumped into a tree and Sakura took over. "You're wide open!" She said. None of her punches hit. Kai waited to see if she would be needed again.

"It won't mean a thing if you don't hit me." Kakashi said, dodging to the best of his ability. His back hit a tree, and he moved just as her fist met the bark he was just leaning against. The tree buckled and fell at her punch. "Phew, that was close."

Naruto made more clones, and charged at Kakashi. They proceeded to fight hand in hand. They went midair, and Kakashi took three of the Naruto's into bandages. "Wait…" Kai said. Sakura and Naruto had the same thought.

"This is Bushy Brows jutsu!" Naruto said. Kakashi took the three down and stood in a defensive position.

"Okay… where's the real one." He said to himself.

"Right here!" Naruto said, jumping out from behind a bush. Kai took Naruto's distraction as an opening. She stealthly ran up to Kakashi, kunai in hand. Kakashi turned and their kunais met in battle. Clash after clash, they kept up.

"You're pretty good." Kakashi said. Kai grinned. Her training with Orochimaru was paying off. Kakashi took an opening and hit Kai's kunai out of her hand. She jumped back, out of the way. She quickly made her handsigns and held out her arm.

"Striking Shadow snake!" Kai yelled as snakes came out from her sleeves. They launched themselves at Kakashi. He dodged and raised an eyebrow. She picked up more jutsu since she left with Sasuke. It was obvious she was with Orochimaru at some point.

Naruto charged at Kakashi from behind, making the handsign for tiger. "Secret Finger Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi's eyes widened. "A thousand years of death!" Kai facepalmed. Not this again. Kakashi launched himself awkwardly into the air, in order to dodge the fingers aimed for his behind.

"Dang it, I missed!" Naruto said, looking up.

"That was a close one, in a different sense." Kakashi said as he landed. Sakura launched herself down at Kakashi, leg out. He dodged, only to have her destroy the tree behind him. He was slightly out of breath, and the tree fell. Sweat dripped from his forehead.

Naruto made many shadow clones this time, and surrounded Kakashi. They all charged him at once. Kakashi took each one down as they came at him. The sound of clones disappearing filled the forest. Sakura took a hit at the ground and Kakashi dodged, at the sacrifice of a few clones. Kai took back to the tree, and grinned.

Night had well fallen and the three walked the forest in search for Kakashi. Kai's eyes easily adjusted. "I thought I heard the bells this way…" Naruto said.

"It could have been a trick." Sakura responded.

"Yeah, it is Kakashi Sensai." Naruto said. The path grew a bit wider and an image of Sasuke appeared. He was mortally wounded and spoke of getting away from Orochimaru. Kai sighed at the image. It was nothing what he looked like when she left the last time…

"As much as I wish it was the real thing…" Sakura said quietly. "Release!" The image disappeared.

"I'm not interested in your illusions!" Sakura yelled out. Naruto made a clone and began creating a rasengan.

"He's behind that tree." Kai said, pointing. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, I know." He charged his rasengan, destroying the tree.

"Kakashi-sensai, you have something to say don't you? I think I missed it before." Sakura smiled.

"Shinobi battle skills part two… genjutsu." He sighed.

"We won't fall for the same trick again!" Sakura said.

"That's not true…" Kakashi said. The bells laid on the ground in front of him.

"The bells!" Naruto said, running to them. He reached forward and a rope caught his leg and pulled him upside down.

"Naruto would fall for the same trick." Kakashi said. A poof and, turns out, it was a clone in the rope. The real Naruto appeared behind Kakashi.

"No way I would fall for a trap like this!" Naruto said, throwing a punch. A substitution appeared.

"Naruto! What did we tell you!" Sakura said. Naruto rubbed the back of his head. Kai looked around as they stood. She wanted to locate Kakashi again before he could get the jump on them. Kunai flew towards them. Naruto dodged, and they hit the tree next to him in a neat line. Naruto returned fire, chasing Kakashi out of hiding. He met Sakura and pulled her around in a lock, only to realize it was a clone. He stood.

Sakura came from above, her fist glowing with blue chakra in the night. Kakashi barely got out of the way. Her fist came down on the ground and suddenly the whole ground was ripped apart. Kai jumped away just in time, having been watching. The three chased Kakashi back towards the river. They stood, watching each other, waiting for the next move.

"Shinobi Battle Skills, part three." Kakashi spoke. "Ninjutsu." He slid back, and began making hand motions. They were so fast, Naruto and Sakura couldn't keep up. Kai activated her own sharingan for the first time that night, and was able to keep up with the rapid movements.

"Look out!" Kai said, as Kakashi raised his hand to his mouth.

"Fire style! Fire Ball Jutsu!" Kakashi said as he blew flames towards them. At Kai's words, Naruto and Sakura dodged.

"Fire Style, Fire Ball Jutsu!" Kai said as well, meeting Kakashi's fireball with her own. The fires met. The flames grew and lit up the clearing. Kai pushed as hard as she could and finally the fireballs canceled each other out. Breathing heavy now, Kai let her hand drop and smirked. Kakashi wasn't there. She looked around. "S***. Now where is he?"

Now separated, Naruto stood up. Wondering where Kakashi was, he felt a hand grab his ankle. As he was pulled down, Kakashi jumped out from the earth. A poof of smoke, and Naruto disappeared. A clone.

Kakashi turned, and Sakura and Naruto were charging up to him. Kai followed close behind. His hands began rapidly making seals and Kai almost struggled to keep up this time. Her cursemark was starting to ache, and she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to keep this up. As Kakashi finished the hand signs, he leapt back onto the river.

"Water Style, Water Dragon Missile!" He yelled as spears of water rose from the river. They coiled together and formed a dragon that came down and washed away Naruto and Sakura. Kai had managed to jump away, expecting it. This time, she wasn't able to warn them.

Out of breath, Kakashi stood on the ground. Back in the forest, Kai followed Sakura and Naruto. "Sorry I couldn't warn you." She said, slightly disapointed in herself.

"It's fine! He used Fire, Earth, and Water style consecutively." Naruto said. "That's almost impossible!"

"Well his isn't called the copy ninja for nothing." Sakura said. "Now I realize how amazing he is." She turned to Kai. "Did you copy the Water Style jutsu?"

"Yeah, actually." Kai said, smiling a bit. Her red eyes had faded back to their blue haze. Sakura noticed and smiled. They were all starting to tire, but being stubborn they kept that to themselves.

Finding somewhere to sit and take a breather, they stopped. Kai stood while Sakura and Naruto sat. She wanted to sit as well, but she felt vulnerable sitting. Naruto looked over his shoulder, to make sure nothing came from behind.

"The Sharingan's something else, isn't it?" Sakura said. Kai nodded slightly. There was a lot more too it than copying, she had learned. Kakashi wasn't even using half the power she had heard about from Orochimaru. Yet, here they were, out of breath.

" _And Sasuke want's to fight Itachi?"_ Kai thought to herself. He must be out of his mind.

"We can't get anywhere unless we do something about his hands." Sakura said. Naruto and Kai nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Kakashi Sensei's incredibly strong, that's for sure." Naruto said. He started comparing Kakashi to the others they knew. Kai barely listened. She heard him say something about his Sharingan being better than Sasuke's, but that was about it. She watched the moon above them, taking in its light. She wondered… no, probably not. She turned her attention back to Sakura and Naruto.

"He has to have a weakness." Sakura said. "If we think hard enough…"

"Wasn't he excited to read the new Make-Out book?" Kai spoke up. They turned to her, suddenly realizing that might be it.

"Alright, then here's the plan…" Naruto said.

Meanwhile, Kakashi sat against a tree elsewhere in the woods. He checked his kunai pouch. He still had plenty of weapons to last until morning. His hand brushed the book that was fit snuggly in there as well. Oh, how he wanted to pull it out. No, not now. Not yet.

Kakashi sensed them before he saw them. He stood quickly. The three came to him head on. "You all know better then to come head on at me!" Kakashi said.

"Go Naruto!" Kai and Sakura yelled.

"Ok! At the end of Make-Out Tactics…!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. "As it happens, the main character….!"

Kakashi's hands went to his ears. "No! Not the ending!" His sharingan still picked up the words despite his ears being covered. He shut his eyes in a desperate attempt to avoid reading his lips.

He opened his eyes, and the three stood in front of him. Naruto and Sakura held up the bells and Kai smiled, hands behind her head.

"You got me…" Kakashi said, putting his hand to his forehead. They all laughed.

Meanwhile, in the Sand Village, a fight was happening that would be a start of something huge.


	4. Chapter 3

"I never thought this would be my reason for losing…" Kakashi stood with Naruto, Sakura, Kai. "I should have just finished the book."

"How can you read such boring books?" Naruto said. Kai watched him and rolled her eyes. At least he was able to read them. Any time Kai even tried to peek, Kakashi would appear and tell her not too.

"Huh?" Kakashi said, looking up.

"Pervy-sage loaned it to me, but I couldn't even get ten pages in! It was so boring. So of course I don't know how it ends."

Kakashi's eyes widened and he looked down in defeat. Sakura told him the plan they had made, and Kakashi groaned quietly.

"You three certainly showed improvement." Tsunade said, walking up.

"Master!" Sakura said.

"Tsunade-sama." Kai said quieter, bowing her head the slightest bit.

"Kakashi, do you have something to say?" She turned her attention to him.

"Well, they did a great job taking the bells from me… so…" He said.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked. Kai started to zone out. She didn't catch most of the conversation. Something about status. She called their names Kai jumped a bit.

"H-hai!" She said. Tsunade smiled faintly.

"The three of you, and Kakashi, will be a team."

"A team?! What exactly does that mean?" Naruto said.

"The three of you will form a team with me." Kakashi said. He looked at Kai. Kai's face was lighting up at Tsunade's words. "We'll go on missions together."

"You mean…" Kai started.

"Yes, you are off probation." Tsunade said. Kai practically leapt in the air. "To a point." Kai nodded, a huge smile on her face.

"Probation?" Naruto asked. Kai looked at him.

"I'll tell you later." She said. He nodded slightly.

"We are no longer teacher and student, we are equal shinobi. Understand?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto answered. They all smiled in agreement. Kai looked once again at Tsunade. Finally, she would be off her probation. Even if it was just a little bit.

"Gee, you guys are strong." Kakashi said as they walked through the Hidden Leaf Village. The streets were lit up and the smell of food wafted through the air. Kakashi was reading his book. "I never thought you'd really be able to get the bells."

"I just might've surpassed you Kakashi Sensei." Naruto yelled.

"Well you know I discovered this really cool Jutsu…" Kakashi started. Naruto's stomach rumbled.

"Hey! I haven't had any Ichiraku Ramen since I've been back!" Naruto said. Kai tried to listen to Kakashi as they talked. Suddenly Naruto and Sakura ran off for Ichiraku and Kai was left with Kakashi.

"I'm still listening…" Kai said quietly. Kakashi simply smiled and patted her head.

"It's alright. Go on." Kakashi said. Kai nodded and took off after Naruto and Sakura. She turned with them, as apparently it was Kakashi's treat. Jiraiya was standing next to him.

"Hey! You're going to treat us to some ramen!" Naruto said.

"I gotta go make a unit list for our new team, I'll see you later." Kakashi said, holding his hand near his face. With that, and a poof of smoke, he was gone.

"He probably just wants to see what happens in his book." Sakura said. Kai shrugged. Didn't matter to her. Sakura and Kai separated from Naruto, then Kai separated from Sakura. Kai went home, tired from the night's mission.

She came home and was greeted with a loud nicker. She smiled, walking to the back where Curse stood by the fence. She threw out hay and put his grain out for him, before walking inside.

The empty dark house was all she had. She turned on the lights and plopped down on her bed. She looked over at the empty bed across from her. Sasuke…

Sighing, she got back up, got a shower, and went to bed. As she fell asleep, a few tears surrounded her eyes. She missed him, a lot.

 _This one is a bit shorter, as the majority of the episode was Naruto or Gaara. Will get to more Kai related soon! It's going to get pretty involved!_


	5. Chapter 4

As the sun rose, Kai was up to greet it. Having taken care of Curse for the morning, she climbed to the top of the Hokage Mountain and sat upon Lord Third's head. Her eyes were closed as she felt the warmth of the sun.

She had wanted to sleep longer, but her mind was too awake. Thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to calm them. They were random, irrelevant, and useless. She needed something to keep herself busy. Jumping up, she leapt down the mountain and into the streets. She was supposed to meet Kakashi and the others anyway.

She didn't beat them there. Sakura and Naruto had already been standing there. Kai walked up to them. "Morning guys." She said.

"Morning Kai!" They replied. Kai stood quietly next to them.

"Oh, hey, Kai!" Naruto said, turning to her. "You never told me about you being on probation."

"Oh, yeah… about that…" Kai hesitated, putting her hand behind her head. Before she could speak, Kakashi walked up. Kai relaxed her arm, smiling faintly.

"Hey, you're late." Sakura said. Kakashi put his hand behind his head.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It took me a lot longer than I thought, to, uh… finalize the new squad dossier."

"Hello! This is our first mission as a new team! Couldn't you be just a little excited?" Naruto exclaimed. Kai watched silently. "Kakashi-sensei, you haven't changed a bit, have you?"

Sakura covered hear ears and shook her head, groaning. "Already, you're annoying! Shut up! Don't waste your breath. You know he's always looked unenthusiastic, like he doesn't care."

"To be fair, if he acted like you did Naruto, it'd be weird." Kai said. "No offense, to either of you!" She hurried to add.

"Hey what do you mean by that?" Naruto asked. Kai giggled. Meanwhile, the sound of a hawk flying over caught Kakashi and Kai's attention. Naruto and Sakura looked up as well.

"Well, let's go." Kakashi said. They walked to the Hokage building, and through the hallways. Kai felt… good. She was enjoying this, being a part of something once again.

"Oh man, it'll feel so good to be on a real mission again." Naruto said.

"Tell me about it." Kai said. Kakashi and her shared a glance.

"Listen, whatever kind of mission we're given, just take it and don't complain about it." Sakura said. "

"Don't sweat it, those day's are over!" Naruto said.

"I hope so…" Kakashi said. Kai giggled. Fast footsteps came charging at them and the four moved out of the way for the lady running towards them.

"Out of the way!" She said. Kai watched her run, curious.

"What was that?" Sakura asked.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?!" Naruto yelled. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Naruto, that was the cypher corps." Kai said.

"The what?" He turned to look at her.

"It's probably important, that's why she's running." Kai added. Naruto relaxed. Kakashi looked at Kai, surprised she knew. Kai shrugged and turned to keep walking. They walked into the mission assignment room.

"What, escort duty on a caravan?" Naruto cried. "Come on!"

"What, have you got a problem with that?" Tsunade said. Kai sighed.

"Since you're asking, yes. Lousy C-rank mission. It's beneath my dignity." Kai snorted. Naruto glared.

"Naruto, your skills may have improved. But mentally, you haven't matured as well."

"Naruto, I've chosen an easier mission to start with to break you in. You've been gone from us for a while." Tsunade kept going.

"Well, who says I want an easier mission?!" Naruto said back. Sakura grabbed Naruto and rubbed his fist on his head.

"Sorry milady, let me talk to him." Sakura said quickly. "I'm sure I can bring him around."

"The details of your mission are here." Tsunade kept going, unfased.

"Right." Kakashi said, walking up.

"I miss the Third Hokage. That old man was smart, he knew what he was doing." Naruto mumbled.

"HUH? What did you just say?!" Tsunade exclaimed. Kai flinched.

"Just shut up, will you?!" Sakura cried out, hitting Naruto in his throat.

"Lady Tsunade!" The door burst open and the lady who had ran past them earlier was back. "Terrible news!" She ran up to the table.

"Now what is it?" Tsunade asked.

"An emergency dispatch from the sand."

"Where is this dispatch?" Tsunade asked.

"I deciphered it as quickly as I could." She handed the paper to Tsunade.

"What the?" Tsunade said, as she read it. Kai stretched up, trying to read facial expressions.

"It can't be!" Iruka said.

"No way!" Shizune added.

"What?!" Kai cried.

"What is it? What's happened?" Naruto asked. Kai looked at Tsunade, waiting.

"It's the Kazekage of the Sand. It seems he's been taken prisoner by the Akatsuki." Tsunade said. Her face remained stoic.

"You mean Gaara." Naruto said. Kai clenched her fist. "So they're back again…"

"We've been studying them. We know more about the Akatsuki than any other village. Therefore, the Sand Village has officially requested our help." Tsunade said.

"You're not suggesting that Team Kakashi-" Shizune started.

"This is urgent. I haven't time to form another squad. And besides, we have someone here who's actually fought the Akatsuki." Tsunade said, looking at Shizune.

"Yes, but even so-" Shizune tried again.

"Alright. Team Kakashi, I'm assigning you a new mission. You're to go to the Sand Village at once. Find out what's going on there and keep us informed. You remain there and follow their orders. Give them any backup they need."

Once they left, they separated to get their things and met back at the gate. Kai sat on Curse, bareback. Her stuff was behind her on his back as well. "Ok, Let's get moving!" Naruto said. Curse paced, eager to get out of the village.

"Be back soon, Milady." Sakura said to Tsunade. "We won't let you down!"

"Good." Tsunade answered. Next to her stood Iruka. "Kai, remember." She said. Kai nodded. Behave, don't get any ideas.

"Naruto, good luck." Iruka said, a smile on his face.

"Thanks." Naruto said, returning the turned and began walking. Kai made Curse walk alongside them. Without warning, Jiraiya jumped down in front of them. Curse snorted, stepping back.

"Hey there! So, off on a mission, Naruto?"

"Well good for you, but more importantly, I've got some disturbing news." He walked towards Tsuande. "The sand's Kazekage-"

"Yes, I know." Tsunade said. "I'm dispatching a squad, they're just about to leave." She raised her hand, pointing at Team Kakashi. Jiraiya looked at the group, then whispered in Tsunade's ear. Kai's face fell a bit, worried. Jiraiya walked back towards the group, and to Naruto.

"Naruto, I want a word with you." He said. They walked off to the side. Kai looked at Kakashi, but he was too busy watching Jiraiya. After Jiraiya had his words, he walked back to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, make sure that kid doesn't do anything stupid." He said. "I can trust you, right?"

Kakashi smiled. "Right." Naruto was walking ahead.

"Kakashi-sensai, Kai, Sakura, come on. What are we waiting for?" Naruto said.

"Ok ok! Coming." Sakura said. Kai rolled her eyes and had Curse trot up to Naruto. Once everyone was caught up, they lept into the trees, except for Kai, who gave Curse the freedome to gallop.


	6. Chapter 5

Kai listened above for her teammates. She looked up and was not prepared for Curse to suddenly stop. She gripped his mane, sliding off not too graciously. "Hey, what's the deal?" Then she heard Sakura.

"Temari!" Sakura cried. The whole group jumped down. Kai ran up, Curse behind her.

Temari's voice shook and her face drained of color. "Gaara, you mean he's been-" Kakashi nodded to her. Temari seemed worried.

"We have two and a half days out to the Sand. We should hurry." Kakashi said.

"Right." Temari answered. Kai hopped back on Curse as everyone once again took off. It was night when she heard Naruto talking again. He seemed, angry. Kai jumped up on a limb off of Curse.

"Keep going, I'll come back down in a bit." Kai said. Curse snorted and kept going. Kai jumped up to the group. Kakashi acknowledged her.

"There's no point in hiding it. The spirit of the Nine-tailed fox is sealed away inside of me." Naruto said. Temari seemed taken aback. Kai blinked. No one told him?

"Gaara and I are the same. Both have monsters locked up inside of us. That's what these bastards are after. And that's the worst part about it!" He kicked the tree with force, breaking the limb. Kai shivered at the amount of chakra he was releasing. "All those bastards see is the means to an end. Everything about us, was exactly the same. And he had to fend for himself a lot longer than I ever did."

Kai looked down, pretending she was checking on Curse. In reality, she was thinking about all the times she ignored him. How she wished Sasuke was here, to show that Naruto is more than this annoying kid.

"And now he's the target of the Akatsuki, one more thing we have in common. Why should his life be so full of misery all the time? Why is it always him? That's why I've gotta hurry. I don't have a second to waste. This time will be different. I'm going to be there to save him!" Naruto took off ahead. Kai looked at Kakashi. He seemed, thoughtful. She muttered to herself and kept with them.

By morning, Kai had went back down to Curse. She was wore out and unlike the others, didn't have food pills that were still good. She did, however, have something similar for Curse. He was going as strong as ever. She listened above for the conversations. She was only half listening when she heard her brother's name. Itachi Uchiha. She clenched her fist, thinking. They were talking about Kai and Sasuke. As if she weren't there. She shook her head and kicked Curse to go faster. Her eyes teared up thinking about when she saw him last.

What she didn't hear was how Orochimaru was going to need a new body in six months, and that Sasuke was next in line. Sakura was preparing to ignore the fact that Kai was with Orochimaru and find Sasuke through the Akatsuki. Kai knew all the hideouts. All they had to do was ask.

Kai heard Kakashi's voice call out. "Kai, don't go too far!"

"H-hai!" Kai called back. She slowed Curse's pace so she was underneath the group.

By nightfall, they were all resting against trees. Kai laid underneath Curse, who stood over her and grazed. Kakashi, Sakura, and Temari sat against trees facing each other. Naruto, however, wasn't in sight. Kakashi stood up.

"Alright, break time's over." He said. Kai yawned and stood up.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, where's Naruto?" Sakura asked. She looked on both sides of her but he was nowhere.

"Right up there." Kakashi said, pointing up. The girls looked upwards. Naruto was standing there, waiting. Staring at the sand.

"Ok, let's get moving." Kakashi said. Off they went. Kai rode Curse off with them. They reached the desert within the hour.

"Alright, we've finally reached the desert." Naruto said. Kai got off of Curse.

"The Village hidden in the Sand is just up ahead." Temari said. "It's best if I take the lead from here on out." She turned to the group.

"Lead on." Kakashi said. They began to follow Temari into the desert. Curse snorted as his hoofs met the sand. Kai turned to him. He kept walking, however.

Halfway there, a sand storm picked up. Everyone found shelter in a small cavern and Kai made Curse lay down in the back so everyone could squeeze it. It was tight, but it would do. Kai sat next to Curse, stroking his neck.

"We get this close to our target, and we're just sitting here." Naruto complained. "I can't stand this waiting!" He went to get up, but Kakashi pulled him back.

"Naruto, for the last time, relax. There's nothing we can do."

"I know but-"

"Just be patient. Would you look at Temari? She's the one who's worried the most." Sakura said.

"The cardinal rule of the desert. If you hit a sandstorm, you stay put." Temari said. "You lose all your sense of direction in a storm like that. I've heard of many people who ended up lost in the desert, and dying of thirst."

"I couldn't even get us out of it with Daichi either." Kai said.

"Don't worry, the sandstorms we get this time of year usually don't last very long." Temari added.

"Well, I just hope you're right." Naruto said. Soon the storm ended and they began their trip once more.

As the sun rose the next day, they arrived upon the Sand. They sprinted up the hills to the entrance. Kai held onto the leadrope she had put on Curse after the storm.

"We've been expecting you." One of the men guarding said.

"Lady Temari, you were with them?"

"Please, this way." The other said.

"My horse?" Kai asked. They took him and handed him to someone. Curse nickered and Kai waved to him.

They ran towards the hospital area. The guards updated them on the situation. "What?" Temari said. "You say they've got Kankuro as well?"

"Yes. When the enemy took Lord Kazekage, Kankuro went after them by himself. He was poisoned, and we haven't been able to find anything to counteract it. He won't last much longer."

"Damn it!" Temari said.

"Do you have data on his blood and the poison?" Kai asked.

"Yes, we do." The guard said. Kai nodded. Having been with Orochimaru, she knew a few poisons not used by the Leaf or Sand.

"Don't give up yet Temari. Let me take a look at him." Sakura said. Kai smiled faintly. If anyone could help him, she could.

They ran in and Sakura immedietly ran to Kankuro's side. Temari as well. Kai went straight for one of the doctors.

"Give me the data you have on the poison."

"Uh, yes ma'am!" One said, grabbing the data and handing it to Kai. Kai sat on the floor and began to analyze the poison. It looked… familiar.

"Damn You!" The old lady said, as she charged toward Kakashi. Kai jumped and looked up. "Get ready to defend yourself or die!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Revenge at last!" The old woman leaped into the air. Kai instantly got defensive. She usually respects her elders, but this woman was giving her reason not too. Seeing that Naruto was reacting, Kai vanished and appeared in front of Kakashi. Naruto caught the lady's fist with his hands, and his shadow clone (which Kai didn't see him make) disappeared as he met each fist.

The lady had Naruto almost matched. Kai was surprised. "What do you think you're doing, attacking Kakashi-sensei like that, you wrinkly old prune?"

"Naruto!" Kai said. Naruto ignored her. His clone disappeared.

"I haven't forgotten what you did. I've waited for this day White Fang of the Leaf, the day I wreak vengeance on you for what you did to my son." The lady said.

"Wait." Kai said, relaxing her position. "White Fang?"

"No, no, no, you see, I'm not-" Kakashi tried to explain.

"That's enough talk." The lady said. She went to raise her hands but the older man in the room raised his arm. Kai turned to Kakashi.

"Isn't that…?" He gave her a glance that said not now. Kai nodded slightly.

"Take a closer look at the man, sis." The old man said. Kai moved away and went back to her spot. Kakashi laughed nervously. "It's true there's a resemblance, but this one is not the White Fang."

"Hello." Kakashi said nervously, raising his hand in a wave.

"Besides, as you know, the White Fang of the Leaf died long ago." The old man continued. "Remember? When you heard the news, you wept in frustration because it meant you would never have your vengeance. Isn't that so, sis?"

The old lady's brow furrowed as she thought about what her brother was saying. Her voice changed suddenly ."Oh well, never mind." She sang. She then began laughing awkwardly. Kai watched and rolled her eyes before looking back at the paper.

Kankuro interrupted them with a roar of pain. "Here, let me take a look at him." Sakura said, throwing her hair up in a ponytail. "Listen, it might help if you all clear out, give us some room. Kai, you stay."

"Yes ma'am." Kai said, not looking up.

"You got it Sakura." Naruto said. He turned and walked out with Kakashi. The man and old lady followed. Sakura began examining Kankuro as Temari stood and watched, worried. Kai held her head, trying to figure out the poison. One of the doctors came over.

"We tried everything, nothing works." They said. Kai nodded slightly.

"I swear I've seen this before, just give me a minute." She answered. The doctor seemed surprised, but didn't question it. He went back to Sakura, who seemed to be of the most concern.

"What are you, who are you?" The one asked.

"I'm a leaf village medical ninja." She answered strongly. Kai grinned. She put her head to Kankuro's chest. "We're definitely dealing with a heavy metal based toxin, the kind that attacks muscle tissue, destroying the cells integrity."

"You were able to learn all that, in one look?" The doctors said in awe.

"May I see his chart?" Sakura asked. Kai handed it to her, since she had it.

"We were getting a breakdown of the poison, but there are still quite a few blanks…" The doctor said.

"I know just what will happen." Sakura said while reading. "The cardiac muscle will be weakened, to the point where the heart will collapse, and cease functioning altogether. It's doubtful we'll be able to come up with an antidote in time. Unless…" Sakura looked at Kai. Kai shook her head.

"What are you saying, there's nothing you can do?" Temari said exasperated.

"I'm going to need a few things, and I'll need them quickly." Sakura said.

"Right." The doctors said, straightening.

"This is going to be pretty crude, but it's the only option we have." Sakura said. Kai narrowed her eyes, staring at the wall. The words Sakura said… they were starting to jog a memory.

"Sakura, I might know an antidote…" Kai said. Sakura looked up.

"Really?" She said. "What is it?"

"Here's the thing, it takes three days to make." Kai said. Sakura looked defeated.

"That won't help us. We'll stick to my plan." Sakura said.

"Yes, of course." Kai answered. The doctors came back with what Sakura needed. They set up and Kai went to the side.

"Hold him down and don't let him move." Sakura said, rinsing her hands in this water like substance. "This part of the procedure is not going to be easy for him."

"Got it." Everyone said. Kai took to a spot to help hold him down. Sakura manipulated the liquid to form a ball in her hand. She concentrated, putting it on Kankuro.

"Here goes." She said. Kankuro screamed, sitting up. "Hold him down!" Sakura cried. He fell back and she began with the procedure. Kai watched in awe. She was taking the toxin directly from his body.

"What's that, is that the poison?" Temari asked.

"That's it!" Sakura said. She dropped the solution into the pan. "Another." She said.

"Right!" The doctors said, and made another pan of the liquid.

Sakura worked tirelessly to extract all the poison. She pinpointed each major organ. After what seemed like hours, she breathed a sigh of relief. "I removed most of the poison. I believe that ought to put him out of any immediate danger." Everyone sighed with relief. The ones waiting outside came in.

"Way to go Sakura!" Naruto said.

Temari backed up and slid down against the wall. She seemed exhausted.

"But he's not completely out of the woods yet. Now then, Kai let's make that antidote. There are traces of toxin still in his body." Sakura continued.

"I see. Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask." Baki responded. \

"Well, I'll need a list of all the medicinal herbs that you have in this village." Sakura said. Kai walked up to her.

"I wrote down which ones we'll need, and we can substitute as needed." Kai said.

"Yes at once." One of the doctors said, walking away.

"And we should change these bandages for new ones." Sakura kept going.

"Yes, ma'am." Another doctor said.

"I'll need an IV drip set up, stat. Oh, and be sure to set aside a small amount of the toxin I extracted. I'll be needing it later." Sakura said finally. Kai smiled, proud of Sakura. She knew just how hard her teammate had been working. Kai assisted with the Nurse on setting up the IV drip.

"You remind me of the old slug queen Tsunade. Isn't it strange you turning up in our village like this?" The old lady, Chiyo, said.

"Well, after all, Lady Tsunade is my teacher." Sakura said proudly. "And it was by her order that I personally came here."

"Here's that list of medicinal herbs." One of the nurses walked towards Sakura and handed it to her. Kai looked over her shoulder.

"Good, thank you very much." Sakura said taking it. Kai pointed out the few herbs they could use. Sakura nodded smiling. They went and made the antidote together in the greenhouse.

"I never thought I'd find such a wide variety of medicinal herbs here in the hidden sand." Sakura said. Kai nodded slightly, helping one of the nurses pick the herbs.

"Well, we try." One of the nurses responded. "Our soil's not very well suited to growing them. We can't grow much scurvy grass, for example.

"That's alright, there's enough. I can make three doses of antidote." Sakura said. Kai and Sakura shared a smile before going back to work.

It was nightfall before they had finished. Sakura took some of the antidote and tested in on a scroll with the poison. Everyone watched closely as the antidote worked with the poison. There was a sizzle and then the scroll was clean.

"It worked! It's ready!" Sakura said, beeming. Kai grinned, thankful that their hard work payed off.

The two girls took the antidote back to the room where Kankuro was. Sakura made a tea

and had Kankuro drink it. Kai stood back by Kakashi. Kankuro finished it and Sakura gave him some instructions for the next few hours. Kai sighed a little, which Kakashi noticed but didn't say anything.

"All of you are going to need rest as well after your journey. We've prepared rooms for you." Baki said.

"But, But we've gotta go after Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Thanks, we'll take you up on your offer." Kakashi said. Naruto and Baki both turned to Kakashi. "We may have to travel far and fast tomorrow." Naruto pouted a bit.

"Ok, you win." Naruto said quietly. Kai gave Naruto a reassuring look. They gathered their belongings and prepared to leave the hospital to the rooms they were given.

"Naruto." Kankuro said.

"Hm?" Naruto turned to Kankuro.

"Save my little brother, will you?" Kankuro finished.

"Don't worry, I will." Naruto smiled. "After all, I'm gonna be hokage some day, and for not the Kazekage can just owe me one."


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning Kai woke up early to take care of Curse before anyone else awakened. Curse was more than happy to see her and she could tell he was uneasy.

"I know buddy, but I think I'm going to leave you here for this mission. I'll have someone escort you back when they can okay?" Kai rubbed his nose as he pressed it into her hand. She wanted to take him with her but she was worried about him getting hurt, especially with the one member using poison.

Kai left and walked back to the room she was sharing with Sakura. Sakura was up and moving. "You were up early." Sakura said. Kai nodded slightly.

"Seeing Curse before we go."

"You're not taking him with us?" Sakura asked. Kai shook her head. Sakura looked at her but understood. "Well, let's go meet everyone else."

"Yeah." Kai said. They walked out to meet Kakashi and Naruto.

"Seems we'll be working in conjunction with a squad from the Sand village. As soon as they're here, we'll head out." Kakashi said.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Temari said, walking up to the group.

"Temari!" Sakura said.

"We'll, if that's everybody…" Kakashi started.

"OK! There's no time to waste, let's get this show on the road!" Naruto said.

"Wait!" Baki jumped down to the group. Kai looked up at him. "Temari, you and your group are to stay here. Patrol the perimeter."

"Are you kidding me or what?" Temari asked angrily.

"Orders, from above." Baki said. Temari gasped a bit. "If word gets out that the Kazekage is missing, our enemies may use it as an opportunity to launch an attack on the village."

"Come on!" One of Temari's squad said. Kai shifted her weight nervously. She wanted to get moving.

"Don't you get it? That's all the more reason we have to get him back as quickly as we can! Look at these Leaf Ninja. They left their village, and came all the way here just to help us rescue Gaara! And Gaara isn't even their leader, he's our Kazekage. The Sand Shinobi should be the ones to save him!" Temari tried desperately to prove her point.

"I'm sorry." Baki started. A voice, the old lady, called out.

"Well I'm going!" She said, standing on top of one of the buildings looking down at the group. "If a sand shinobi is needed, then I'm the one to go."

"Granny Chiyo?" Temari asked.

"But… But you're so…" Baki asked.

"I'm retired yes, which means of course that I'm free to do whatever I want.' Chiyo smirked.

"Yes, but the journey will be difficult." The same member of Temari's group said.

"Ah! Don't treat me like a Fussie!" Chiyo said. She jumped from the building to the group. Naruto was a bit startled.

"After all it's been awhile since I doted on my adorable grandchild." Chiyo said. Kai tilted her head just slightly confused. The group walked out to the gates.

"Alright, we'll head out on our own then." Kakashi said.

"Thank you." Baki responded. "I'll try to convince the council to change their mind."

"Don't worry, we'll catch up with you." Temari smiled.

"Ha. By the time you can catch up with us, we'll have already rescued Gaara." Naruto said.

"We'll see you soon." Sakura said. The group took off into the desert. Kai stuck closer to Kakashi. It was weird, but she felt slightly more bonded to him since he had saved Curse almost a year before. She knew he was keeping an eye on her too, so she just made it easier on him.

The group flew through the trees. Sakura asked Naruto something about the Akatsuki and Kai didn't process it until Kakashi spoke. "Two Akatsuki members came to the leaf looking for Naruto once." He said. "But it's been three years since then, and no sign of them. And now they're back." Kai looked away because she remembered that day.

"But why do you think they waited so long to make another move?" Sakura continued to ask questions.

"It could be they wanted to act before this, but for some reason they couldn't. Maybe because Master Jiraiya was around and they didn't want to face him."

"That's not it." Chiyo spoke up. She was behind the group, but keeping up. "From what I've learned, there was an entirely different reason they've had to wait this long."

"What reason?" Naruto asked.

"If you're going to try and draw out the tailed beast that dwells within, a great deal of preparation is involved. They just needed some more time."

"What are you talking about? What tailed beast?" Sakura asked. Kai looked at her.

"My my, you're a student of that old slug queen Tsunade and you don't even know that, when the leaf itself is host to the nine-tailed fox?" Kai nodded slightly. She knew, mainly because she'd been with Orochimaru. Yet someone like Sakura, who has done her studies too, should have at least heard something about the tailed beast?

"The nine tailed fox spirit is not something we talk about." Kakashi said. "It's considered top secret."

"Really? Well, not surprising, I guess. Tailed beast are demon spirits with one or more tails. The sand have had a single tailed beast since long ago. That's the Shukaku sealed within Gaara." Chiyo explained.

"So then, there's more of these demon spirits?" Sakura asked. She seemed on edge.

"Oh yes. There are a total of nine of them in the world, each with distinct characteristics, and each with different number of tails. The demon beast of the sand with it's single tail, a two tailed spirit, three-tailed, and so on. All the way up to the nine-tailed fox of the leaf. The beast are huge concentrations of chakra and during the great war, every nation competed for control of them for military purposes. They fought relentlessly over them, but the tailed beasts' powers were beyond human imagining. No one could control them. I don't know of the intentions of the akatsuki, but that kind of power is far too dangerous for anyone to get ahold of. Eventually, with the coming of peace, the tailed-beast were forgotten. But nevertheless, they still exist. All nine of them scattered over the world." Chiyo stopped explaining. Kai looked up and saw Naruto's pain at hearing this.

' _No one has explained this to him, have they?'_ Kai thought. She could tell Naruto was sad. She put more force into her pace. They kept going. As they landed on the ground Kai stopped moving as everyone else went ahead. It couldn't be. It can't be…

"Everybody stop!" Kakashi said. He put his hands out. In front of them was none other than Itachi Uchiha. Kai's heart skipped a beat and she began shaking. Itachi caught her eye and she stepped back, looking away. She found herself standing closer to Kakashi.

"Who's that?" Sakura asked. Kai closed her eyes trying to pretend this wasn't happening.

"I know you…" Naruto growled. Kai could feel his chakra rising. Kakashi didn't glance back at Kai, but she could feel his chakra rising as well. The wind blew against them. Itachi's sharingan eyes stared on. "Itachi Uchiha."

Sakura gasped, and looked at Kai. Kai avoided eye contact, staring at Itachi. Her sharingan flickered at her mixed emotions. Chiyo stepped up next to Naruto.

"So, that's the one." She said. "The child who wiped out his entire clan."

"Kakashi, Naruto… and Kai." Kai flinched at Itachi's words. "It's been a while."

"I wasn't enough for you, huh? You had to go after Gaara as well." Naruto said. "I'll destroy every last one of you!" Naruto pointed at Itachi. Itachi raised his arm from his side.

"Everyone! Whatever you do don't look in his eyes." Kakashi said. Kai activated her Sharingan. She forced herself to look into Itachi's eyes, pleading with him. Yet his eyes lacked any emotion. Not even the slightest flicker that she'd gotten out of Orochimaru's eyes once. Her heart ached and she choked back any tears.

"Itachi's genjutsu is a visual jutsu, which means, avoid eye contact with him and his jutsu can't take affect. Even you Kai." Kakashi said. Kai blinked, looking at him. She felt the rise in Itachi's chakra and nodded slightly.

"Yeah, that I know." Naruto said.

"Ok, but then how are we supposed to fight him?" Sakura asked.

"That's the tricky part. You have to anticipate his moves, by watching his feet, his body .  
"But that's like fighting with one arm tied behind your back."

"The Uchiha clan eh? It's been a long time since I've gone up against the Sharingan." Chiyo said. Kai was thankful she was standing behind her. She didn't want Chiyo putting two and two together. Not right now at least. Naruto looked at Chiyo surprised. "Don't act so surprised. I've been around, and I know there's more than one way to fight a visual jutsu like that."

"Yeah, like what then?" Naruto asked.

"If one against one, abandon the field. If two against one, take the rear, and he'll yield. " Chiyo said.

"What's that mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well the first part of it is pretty self explanatory, isn't it? The sharingan can never be beaten in single combat. But, if you outnumber the Sharingan user, if the battle is two against one, then even if one of you is caught in his genjutsu, the other is free to strike from the rear, breaking the genjutsu's spell. Even if your attack from the rear should fall somehow, you're still free to strike your comrade yourself and break the genjutsu that way. So, while one of us fights him face to face as a distraction, the rest of us will mount a series of attacks from the rear where his Sharingan can't reach.  
"Good plan." Sakura said.

"I guess you learn a lot of stuff like that if you live long enough." Naruto said. They all got prepared to fight. "Let's go I'll take the rear-"

"Wait." Kakashi stepped up.

"Ok sensei, we're waiting. But what are we waiting for?"

"Do you have a problem with my way of fighting the Sharingan?" Chiyo asked. "Are you suggesting my methods won't work?"

"No. They work fine against ordinary genjutsu. But what we're dealing with here is much more complicated."

"Meaning what?" Chiyo asked. Kai stepped up, her body still shaking.

"It's not just the sharingan. He uses Mangekyo Sharingan." Kai said. Everyone turned to look at her. She was staring ahead, at Itachi's feet. "It's like an upgrade to the normal sharingan." Chiyo looked at Kai, noticing the red in her eyes. She didn't show if she was surprised, but Kai guessed she was.

"It only takes a second, but if he hits you with that jutsu, it'll be the longest second you've ever lived." Kakashi finished. Kai bit her lip. Kakashi explained further but Kai stopped listening. She'd lived it as a child once.

"That does sound tricky. What a troublesome fellow this is." Chiyo said.

"Very good Kai, Kakashi." Itachi said. "I see your sojourn in my 't wasted."

"Oh believe me, I learned something else as well. There's a price to pay for using that sharingan. It exhausted you, didn't it? You had to quit before the battle was over." Kakashi said. "So in addition to using up a lot of chakra, you risk permanent damage to your eye everytime you use that jutsu, don't you Itachi?" Kakashi asked.

"You seem to have learned a great deal from our one brief encounter." Itachi said.

"I wonder," Kakashi reached his hand up to lift his headband, "just how much damage has already been done to your eyesight." Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing his own Sharingan eye.

Kai wanted to scream. This whole situation was making her want to run away. At the same time, she wanted to reach out to Itachi. Yet still she wanted to punch him, make him feel the pain she felt even though physical pain would never be enough. She tried desperately to keep herself calm.

"I underestimated you back then, I admit." Kakashi put his hand on his head. "But I am not the fool I used to be. Things aren't gonna go the same way this time. I promise you that."

"Yeah, and don't go thinking I'm the same kid either." Naruto said. "A lot of things have changed since then."

"Naruto, leave him to me." Kakashi said. Sakura looked up at Kakashi. Kai stepped into a fighting position. "Kai." Kakashi's voice was like a smack in the head. She looked at him. He was meaning it this time.

"Not again, not that kind of teamwork where we sit back and do nothing!" Naruto said.

"No. This time, you cover me. I wish I could say you guys go on ahead, I can handle this alone. But I never make the same mistake twice." Kakashi said. Kai looked at Itachi. This time, she wasn't going to sit back and watch.

"It's time you came with me, Naruto." Itachi said, raising his hand to point at him.

"Me first!" Kakashi said, charging Itachi. His fist met Itachi's hands as someone ran past them. "A shadow clone!"

Naruto charged it with a Rasengan. The clone was hit head on, and disappeared. Only there wasn't any clone. Naruto was caught in a genjutsu and Kai, Sakura, and Chiyo caught on. They ran to Naruto, putting their hands on him.

"Naruto, are you alright?!" Kakashi said, sliding back after an attempted hit on Itachi.

"Wh-What happened to me?" Naruto said, his eyes staring blankly.

"You were caught in a genjutsu, but you're gonna be fine." Sakura said. "We all funneled our chakra into you and broke the hold."

"I don't get it. Where did his shadow clones go?" Naruto asked.

"He hasn't made any shadow clones, Naruto." Kai said.

"Yeah, all of the sudden you kinda freaked out and started shooting off your rasengan at absolutely nothing. Don't you remember any of that?" Sakura said.

"You're saying, I was already in the Genjutsu?" He asked.

"I'm afraid he's using more than just a visual jutsu…" Chiyo said.

"I think it's about time for the main event. Better get it together Naruto." Kakashi said. Naruto didn't react, so Sakura smacked his cheek lightly.

"Hey, snap out of it will you?"

"Come on Naruto! I'll show you how it's done." Kakashi fixed his fighting posture. Naruto got into a fighting stance. Kai followed Naruto's lead. She looked once again at Itachi, pleading with him. His eyes still showed nothing but the red Sharingan. Kai looked down, afraid that he would attempt to put her under a Genjutsu too.

"Kai…" Sakura whispered. Kai just glanced at her. Sakura nodded, determined. She was worried about Kai fighting her oldest brother, but Kai wouldn't act like it was actually going to be a problem.

Kakashi charged, and Itachi rapidly made hand signs. Phoniex Flower Jutsu began to come out and Kakashi dodged them all. Kakashi turned mid leap. "He's not done yet!"

"Fire Style, Fireball jutsu!" Itachi said. Kai jumped out and matched it with her own fireball. The two met and exploded mid range. Itachi didn't react. When the smoke cleared, the sound of Chidori could be heard. Kakashi charged at Itachi, and went to strike. Itachi dodged and looked up. Naruto was above him, with a Rasengan ready. Itachi was seemingly hit, but when the smoke cleared after they hit the ground, Itachi was standing in front of a hole made. Naruto was not.

Kai looked and noticed everyone was out of breath. She took this chance for herself.

Grabbing her sword, she charged at Itachi. Itachi met her sword with a kunai, and jumped back. Kai stood in position, both hands on her sword. "Is it your turn now?" Itachi said. Kai ran towards him again.

Itachi dodged to the side this time, and kicked Kai into a tree. Kai coughed when her back hit the tree, leaving a mark on both her and the tree. Itachi stood there, waiting to see if she would get back up.

She did. Kai stood. She could hear Kakashi telling her to wait, but she ran at him again. Her emotions drove her to fight him. She was seeing nothing but him. Itachi met her sword with a kunai, this time pushing it out of her hands. They fought hand to hand. Itachi finally grabbed her by the neck, lifting her. Kai struggled, fear overcoming anger. "You left Sasuke, and you're nothing."

She looked down at Itachi. "Nii-san…" she barely choked out. She felt Itachi's hand loosen, she saw the hesitation. She pushed away from him and he let her go. Kai sat down, shaking.

"Kai! Are you okay?" She heard Sakura cry out. Kai gave her a thumbs up, sitting against the tree they were closest too. A mist fell heavy on them and Kai looked up. She couldn't see Itachi anymore.

"Kakashi. Can we please stop this childish game of hide and seek?" Itachi said. Kakashi walked out from behind a tree.

"Sure, why not?" He said. Kakashi threw kunai at Itachi. Itachi dodged and made hand signs for a fireball jutsu. Kakashi seemingly took it, and the explosion cleared the mist. When it was clear, there was a hole in the ground. Kai stood up and grabbed her sword, vanishing into the trees.

Kakashi shot up from the ground to uppercut Itachi. Itachi moved back ever so slightly and grabbed Kakashi's arm. Pulling him down, he threw a punch. Kakashi ducked. Itachi reached around and pulled Kakashi's neck towards him. Kakashi stopped moving. Kai bit her lip, knowing he was caught in the genjutsu.

Yet, Kakashi crawled out of the hole while the one Itachi held grabbed his arm. Kai wanted to keep acting but she let Kakashi do the fighting. If she could, she was going to separate Itachi from the others and talk to him.

"It all makes sense. Of course my genjutsu has no effect on you. Because you're a shadow clone." Itachi said.

"Attack him and my shadow clone. Now Naruto!" Kakashi said.

"I'm on it!" Naruto charged out with his shadow clones. "Giant Rasengan!" The Rasengan pushed Naruto and Itachi far away from them. The group went to catch up with Naruto. They stood around what appeared to be Itachi's body.

'We we were fighting, I could feel something was off." Kakashi said.

"I don't get it, what the heck just happened?" Naruto said.

"It has to be some kind of jutsu." Sakura said.

"But that man... " Chiyo said.

"Lady Chiyo, do you know who this person is?" Kakashi asked.

"I do." She responded. "His name is Yura, and he's a jonnin from our own village."

 _/Hey! This one is super long and I apologize in advance. Kai's got a LOT to handle now!_


	9. Chapter 9

"A sand Shinobi?" Naruto asked.

"What does this mean?" Kakashi followed.

"I wish I knew." Chiyo attempted to answer. "Poor fool, he went missing after Gaara was abducted while the village was still in disarray."

"Is it possible he was a spy for the Akatsuki?" Sakura gasped.

"No! He serve on the council for four years." Chiyo said. Kai stood there, staring at the man who had looked like Itachi.

"The Fireball Jutsu. It was created by the Uchiha clan, it's their specialty." Kakashi said. "That attack, was the real thing."

"Are you saying Itachi was here?" Kai asked.

"I think so." He answered. Kai shuddered.

"Just as I thought, they were clearly trying to stall for time." Chiyo said. She began writing with a brush on a small scroll.

"That's an impressive jutsu they've got." Kakashi said. Sakura turned to look at Naruto and Kai.

"For them to use a jutsu like this to stall us can mean only one thing. It's worse than I thought. The extraction of the tailed beast has already begun." Chiyo said.

"Huh?" The three young ninjas said. Kakashi merely nodded in response.

"We're out of time. We need to get to Gaara right away." Kakashi said.

"So wait, hold on." Sakura said, lifting her hand. "What do you mean by extraction?"

"They're after the Shukaku. If they can draw out the one tail, they can create a new jinchuriki."

"A new Jinchuriki?"

"I told you, didn't I? How the tailed beast possess power beyond all reckoning, and how every land has tried to use them as military weapons?" Sakura nodded. Chiyo continued. "The Jinchuriki is the name given to those who control that power."

"But earlier you said-"

"Not for lack of trying. There were, of course, those who tried to harness that great power for their own purposes, attempting to control the beast by sealing them away inside of people. By doing so, they hoped to suppress the tail beasts' great power, and then bend that might to their will. And the ones with the tailed beasts sealed inside of them, such as our own village's Gaara, are known as Jinchuriki."

 _Like Naruto._ Kai thought to herself. She looked at him, worried. Chiyo kept talking, but Kai only half listened. She found herself staring again at the corpse in front of them. If it wasn't truly Itachi, how did he know to say what he did? How did he know about Kai leaving the Sound? She felt sick.

Chiyo threw a scroll onto the ground and made some hand signs. A mechanical bird popped out, and took the scroll, flying away. Everyone was quiet.

"There were several wars fought using the Jinchuriki, weren't there?" Sakura asked.

"That's correct." Chiyo said.

"Then the people that become Jinchuriki-" She stopped, looking at Naruto. "All right then. How are the tailed beast extracted?"

"A couple of things are needed. A sealing jutsu strong enough to counterbalance the tailed beast's power, and a lot of time. But with things to reach that point, then the jinchuriki…" Chiyo stopped.

"You don't mean…" Sakura said.

"That's right dear. Once the tailed beast is extracted, they die." The wind blew and Kai bit her lip. They needed to get going. "The others I mentioned, the jinchuriki that came before Gaara, we extracted the Shukaku from them as well, and both died as a result."

"You always were quick to cry, huh, Sakura?" Naruto finally spoke up. She turned to look at him. "Hey don't worry, I promise I'm gonna save Gaara." He smiled.

"Don't you get it? Naruto I'm concerned-"

"We better hurry." Naruto said. He started walking. Kai looked at Sakura, giving a comforting look, before following. The group flew back through the trees to their destination.

Kai looked at Naruto, who she could see was out of breath. Kakashi seemed to notice too but neither said anything. Towards nightfall they stopped in a clearing.

"Stop here." He said.

"Why Kakashi-sensei? What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"We're taking a short break." Kakashi said.

"That's a very wise decision." Chiyo said.

"What do you mean?" Naruto said, running up to Kakashi. "Come on, you were the one saying we couldn't waste anymore time. If we just lay around here doing nothing, Gaara is gonna be-"

"Naruto. Our pace has slowed since we faced off against that bogus Itachi."

"He's absolutely right Naruto." Sakura spoke up.

"If we take the time to rest up now, we'll ultimately reach our destination faster. Keep in mind, tomorrow we may end up facing the guys who kidnapped Gaara. We'll need our full strength." Kakashi said.

"Yeah alright, I understand." Naruto said. Kai sighed with relief.

That night, they sat around a fire. Naruto was sprawled out on the ground, with Sakura on another side also asleep. Chiyo sat up, looking at the fire. Kai sat in a tree, unable to sleep. Kakashi jumped down next to her. Kai jumped just a bit.

"You should rest." Kakashi said, not looking at Kai.

"I know." She said simply. Kakashi sighed. He watched the group below.

"Well, let's get going." He said, jumping down. "That's enough rest, we should get moving." He said walking towards the group. Kai followed.

Chiyo nodded. Kakashi walked towards the fire. "Okay you too, wake up. We're heading out."

Sakura and Naruto groaned a bit before rising. "Right…" Sakura said, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay in a minute, just give me a minute more." Naruto said, rolling over.

"I thought you were going to save Gaara." Kakashi said. Naruto shot out of bed.

"You bet I'm gonna save him!"

It was early morning when the group set out again. It was quiet as everyone was focused and expecting the upcoming battle with Akatsuki.

"They're confident they've delayed us long enough." Kakashi said.

"Yes indeed, I'm starting to think the same thing." Chiyo said.

"But that means…" Sakura started. Naruto gritted his teeth. He shot ahead of the group.

"Naruto not so fast! Wait up!" Sakura cried. Kai felt the tension coming from Naruto, his chakra had surged. "Oh brother."

"Why's that boy pushing himself so hard to save Gaara?" Chiyo asked Kakashi. "He's not even from the same village." Kakashi only looked at her. "What is he? What's that boy's story?"

"Naruto is a Jinchuriki, as well. He has the nine-tailed fox sealed within him. It's not that he has any special feelings for the hidden sand, or its people, but he and Gaara are both Jinchuriki. Naruto knows how Gaara feels better than anyone in the Sand ever could. After all, those who are Jinchuriki have been treated the same way in every village. That's why he feels this desperate need to save Gaara. It doesn't matter if Gaara's from the Sand, or the Leaf, or anywhere else. He's a friend, the only friend who's felt the same pain Naruto's felt."

Kai didn't wait for Kakashi to keep talking, she stopped listening. She heard something about Naruto wanting to be Hokage. Chiyo started talking as well. She focused on the road ahead. Would she see Itachi, the real one? She bit her lip. She wasn't ready, not to see him in person.

She stepped up to catch up to Naruto. He turned to look at her, and she only smiled at him. Naruto stared at her for a moment, before nodding in understand, a small smile on his face as well. Kai took note of the whiskers on his face being more prominent than usual.

They arrived on the water of a river, in front of a canyon with a bolder with a seal. Gai, Lee, TenTen, and Neji were already there. "Late as usual, Kakashi." Gai said.

"Well, you see, we ran into a little trouble along the way." Kakashi said, kneeling.

"'Naruto! Sakura! Kai!" Lee said.

"Wait a minute. By a little trouble, you don't mean me, do you, Kakashi?" Chiyo said. Kai smiled.

"Well?" Naruto said.

"Looks like we were just a step behind you guys." Sakura said.

"Yeah. Who's that old lady?" TenTen asked as they walked up to them.

"Oh! This is lady Chiyo." Sakura said.

"She's an adviser from the Sand Village." Kai added.

"Very pleased to meet you." Chiyo said.

"Well then, let's do this Kakashi." Gai said.

"Right."

They stood, looking at the bolder. Step one was getting past it. From there, who knew what would happen…


	10. Chapter 10

"Inside, it looks like there's a large cavern… but…" Neji said.

"But what?" Naruto asked.

"I just can't quite make out what's going on in there. I see several people."

"Neji, what about Gaara? What's happening? Is he one of the people you see?" Naruto questioned.

"Back off a second! I'm trying to locate him now."

"Neji!"

"Take it easy! I don't- what is that thing?"

"What is it? What's going on? Neji what's in there?" Naruto was shaking Neji.

"Let go of me." Neji said.

"Well, what did you see?" Sakura asked.

"It's hard to describe with words."

"Wait, so that would mean." TenTen started.

"Yes. It means that whatever it is, we will have to go see it for ourselves." Lee said. Kai took a deep breath.

"That makes things easy, doesn't it?" Gai put on a hand on Lee's shoulder. He backed up a few feet. He then charged at the boulder. "Coming through!" He yelled. His fist met the boulder and waves came off it, absorbing his punch.

"Quite a barrier." He said. Kai's eyes were a bit wide, she almost forgot his strength.

"What is your plan?" Lee asked.

"Well Lee, it's pretty obvious we need to get rid of that barrier."

"And how do we do that?" TenTen asked. Kai studied the seal.

"Before we even think about breaking through, we should know what kind of barrier it is." Sakura asked.

"That's right." Gai said. "So figure out the type of barrier, that's step one. Right Kakashi?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think?" Chiyo asked. Kai looked at Kakashi.

"It could be a five seal barrier."

"I agree with you." Chiyo said. Kai nodded.

"I think so too."

"Five seal barrier?" Naruto asked.

"It's a strong layer of protection in which five tags with the word forbidden written on them are fastened around the area that's being guarded. One forbidden tag is in front of us, and four more must be in other locations."

"Can't we just pull them off?" Gai asked.

"It's not that easy. The tags are in five different places, but they have to be taken down at the exact same moment."

"So we have to remove them simultaneously?" Kai asked.

"Right. The barrier won't budge unless all five tags are pulled off simultaneously. It's a tall order. That's only one tag."

"Which means theres four more out there." Gai said.

"Alright then let's do it! How do we find out where the other tags are?" Naruto asked.

"Neji."

"I understand." Neji activated his byakugan and began searching. "I found them!"

"Awesome Neji, point them out!"

"One is on a boulder about 500 meters northeast of us. The second one is on a tree trunk beside a river bank 350 meters south-southeast. The third you'll find 650 meters northwest, on a cliff. And the last one is in the woods, less than 800 meters to the southwest."

"If that's the case, each one of them is pretty far apart. How will we signal each other?" Sakura asked.

"I think I can handle that." Gai said, taking off his bag. "We should just be in range for these. They're wireless radios."

"Whoa that's amazing!" Naruto said.

"Good thinking." Kakashi said.

"Okay, so we'll stay in constant communication and follow Neji's directions to the tags." Gai said, grinning. "Okay, let's find these tags and get rid of them. Team Gai is the faster team so we'll be the ones to handle this mission."

"We're all counting on ya!" Naruto said, giving a thumbs up. Kai nodded.

"Alright, Lee, you head northwest into the woods. The northeast boulder is all yours, Neji. TenTen, you'll get the south-southeast. And I'll take care of the one on the northwest cliff. That's the one in the trickiest location and should be the hardest to eliminate."

"What's the frequency?" Kakashi asked.

"174." Gai answered.

"Copy that." Kakashi turned the knob on his set to 174. Lee took a deep breath.

"TESTING DO YOU READ ME?" He screamed. Everyone with a set on cringed.

"Lee, your microphones up too loud." TenTen covered her ears.

"Ah, A thousand apologies!" He bowed, but the cringing continued as all the headsets picked up his voice.

Kai watched as they discussed to themselves. She looked up at the giant rock.

"Oh that was so cool!" Naruto said. He turned to the group. "We should do that too!"

"I would rather die." Sakura said.

"Me too." Kakashi replied.

"Not a chance." Chiyo also answered. Naruto looked at Kai. She smiled.

"I'll give you a high five." She said, not budging. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah!" They high fived and Kai giggled. Kakashi turned to Pakkun.

"Well it's about time for me to shove off. There's no real reason for me to stick around, I'd just be getting in the way." Pakkun said.

"Thanks, Pakkun." Kakashi raised his hand in farwell. "Good work."

"Alright then. See you guys later." Pakkun disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Everyone got into position, Sakura waiting to destroy the boulder. Kai stood by Chiyo. "We'll make our assault using the button hook entry." Kakashi said.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Naruto said. Chiyo nodded.

"Yeah." Sakura said.

"Hai." Kai said. Kakashi tore off the tag, Kai assumed he had been given the signal.

"Now Sakura!"

"Right!" Sakura charged the boulder. Kai got ready to run in once it was gone. Kai watched the rubble fall. Kakashi gave them the signal to go in. As they all went in, ready to fight, they were welcomed by a sad sight.

"We're too late." Kakashi said.

Two men, or so Kai assumed, were standing next to Gaara's seemingly dead body. Kai kept from covering her mouth. She turned to Naruto as his Chakra grew stronger. The one man, turns out, was not standing but sitting on Gaara's body. Kai's own Chakra grew. How dare they!

"Finally." The blonde haired man said. "Well then, which one of you would be the jinchuriki?"

"You…" Naruto's chakra was reaching a state where Kai was actually afraid to be next to him. "You bastards!" He cried out. "I'll kill the both of you!"

"The one who bursts in, and starts barking. That would be him then." The hunched, weird looking man said.

"Sasori, my man, I think you're correct, hm." The blonde haired said. Kai clenched her fist.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where the hell do you think you're sitting?" Naruto screamed.

"Well, so much for that mystery. He's the jinchuriki then. He's the one who burst in and barks first all right. Seriously. Itachi was right on the money, huh?" The blonde said. Kai kept herself from growling in response. Itachi sold them out, did he? Well, not like it pertained to her but she grew furious at the thought.

"Gaara! What the hell are you doing? Come on! Why are you just lying there?" Naruto yelled. Kai looked at him. He didn't know, did he? "Get up! Gaara! Answer me! What are you deaf? Come on, knock it off already!" Naruto went to walk forward.

"Enough Naruto!" Kakashi said. Kai jumped, not at his voice, but the pain in it. Naruto stopped moving. "You know full well that-" Kakashi stopped.

"You're friends right, and you know it too. He's been dead for a while now." The blonde said, smacking Gaara's cheek with the back of his hand. Kai felt Naruto's chakra spike, again. The intensity of it caused her to side step. He was so angry.

"Well." Sasori said. He felt it too.

"Oh yeah, that's him alright." The blonde said.

"Give him back." Naruto muttered. "Give Gaara back, you damn-" He went charge at them. Kakashi got in front of Naruto, causing him to stop.

"Cool it." Kakashi said. "Charge in without thinking, and we're done for."

Sasori's eyes turned toward the blonde.

"What, something on your mind, Sasori, my man?" He asked.

"I'll hold onto him." Sasori said.

"Huh?"

"Since it appears that Jinchuriki will stop at nothing to get him back."

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly."

"Okay, it looks like the one the left is the one who infiltrated the Sand and took Lord Kazekage. Which means this one is the puppet master who wounded Kankuro so badly." Kakashi turned, looking at Chiyo. "Her grandson Sasori huh."

"Well my man, I doubt that you want to hear this, but I'll just go ahead and say it anyway. I think I'll take care of the jinchuriki." The blonde said.

"Look, our quota is on apiece. Don't push your luck, Deidara." Sasori said.

"An artist must always seek ever greater stimulation." Deidara said. "Lest his senses go dull on him, my man." Kai tuned them out at this point. She wanted to get a better idea of their surroundings. She looked at Kakashi, then at the four of them, then felt for anyone else. There was no one but them. From what she did hear from the two Akatsuki, they were arguing about Art, and how one was eternal beauty and the other wasn't.

"I… I don't get it…" Sakura said. Kai rolled her eyes in agreement.

"You lousy rotten-" Naruto started. Sasori kept talking. "Enough is enough!" Naruto yelled, grabbing a scroll and summoning a windmill shuriken. He threw it at the two. Sasori's puppet, or body, Kai wasn't sure, swung out and blocked the shuriken, throwing it back down to the ground.

"Are you trying to make me angry?" Sasori said.

"Hey easy, I told you he wouldn't want to hear it. Give me a break, will ya? " Deidara said.

"I don't have to remind you what happens when I get angry, do I?" Sasori said. His tail pointed toward Deidara. "Why don't you explain it to me again, Deidara?" Poison dripped off the tail. Deidara stood up.

"Art is one thing and one thing only." He looked down at his hand. Kai watched carefully. "The explosion itself." Deidara tossed something into the air. It was white. Kai prepared to fight. He made a hand sign and a giant clay bird appeared. "It's not even in the same league compared to your grotesque puppet show." The bird picked up Gaara in it's mouth. Sasori's tail launched at Deidara, but Deidara jumped onto his bird last minute. The bird, now in the air, hovered over them. "See you around my man!" Deidara said. With that, the bird put Gaara further into its mouth and they flew out of the cavern.

Naruto went running out of the Cavern. Kai heard him yelling outside. "Naruto!" Kakashi said. "Kai, with me." He went running out to follow. Kai ran out with him, following. She gave an encouraging look at Sakura.

"Naruto, Kai, and I will handle the one outside. Sakura, Lady Chiyo, take the one inside But please don't do anything rash until team guy gets back."

"Right, you've got it!" Sakura nodded.

Kai, Naruto, and Kakashi stood on top the red post, watching Deidara circle in the air. Kai went to bite her thumb but Kakashi stopped her. "Don't risk getting too close, he uses explosives remember? If you fall from the sky that's it. Stay low."

"Right…" Kai muttered, putting her hand down. She watched with them.

"Guy, do you read me? The enemy has split up, we're gonna need a hand. Return immediately.' Kakashi said.

Kai looked at Naruto, trying to comfort him with her presence. It was pointless, he wasn't thinking straight except for getting Gaara.

"Give him back, give Gaara back!" Naruto screamed.

"All right." Kakashi raised his headband, showing the sharingan. "No time to waste here." Kai followed suite, activating her Sharingan. At least be able to see through any attacks. Her shoulder throbbed and she flinched, but stood straight hoping no one noticed.

Deidara hovered over them. Naruto spoke. "Gaara…"

"Are you really sure you want to waste your time on me?" Deidara asked. "Kakashi-sensai with the sharingan?"

"You know, my man Sasori is probably a more dangerous opponent than I am, as much as I hate to say that. His idea of art is… very different from mine." Deidara said. Kai glared.

" _He wants to split us up…"_ Kai thought to herself. A breeze of chakra came from behind them and Kai turned slightly.

"Ah, it seems they've started." Deidara said. "How confident are you in that young girl and the old lady? You really think they're good enough to handle my man Sasori? Huh?"

Kai looked at Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensai-"

"Go on Sensai. Go to Sakura, I'll handle this." Naruto said. Kai blinked. "Go on, both of you! Don't worry. I'll take care of it!" Naruto lunged forward. "I'll save Gaara!" He jumped towards Deidara. Deidara dodged and Naruto collided with the cliff instead.

Kai watched as something white was thrown my Deidara. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure it out. With a puff of smoke, it blew up into a larger version of itself and she saw it was a clay bird. Kakashi jumped to meet Naruto, and Kai followed.

Kakashi threw a kunai, hitting the clay bomb. It exploded in front of him. He landed gracefully on the side of the cliff where Kai joined him.

A kunai came out of the explosion and Kai threw one back to counter it. The metal clanged against each other and then fell. "Good, it would have been very disappointing if you would have been beaten that easily."

Naruto came out of the rubble in the cliff, eyes red and whiskers prominent. "Let go og him! I'll never let you have him!"

"Kai, listen to me. I want you to go find Gai and the others and assist them." Kakashi said.

"What?"

"I can handle this here. You're our extra person. Go. I'll contact you if I need you back, understood?" Kakashi looked at Kai.

"H-hai." Kai said. She headed away from Deidara, keeping an eye out for any attacks behind her.

"Hm? It seems you're splitting up." Deidara grinned. "One less person I'll have to deal with." He said.

Kai headed towards where she thought team Gai was. She couldn't remember and it was far away. She pushed forward, even though she was still tired from the previous fighting.

As she moved forward, she thought about the whole situation. She was confused, angry, and upset at it all. She wanted her brother. She wanted to go back. Her heart ached. Shaking her head, she pushed forward. She was on a mission right now, as a ninja. She had to keep the task in hand at focus.

She was almost there when she felt the ground shaking. She stopped. "What the hell?"

"Kai. Are you there?" She heard on the headset. It was Gai.

"Yeah, what was that?" She asked, holding her hand up to her ear.

"I don't know. I know Kakashi said to come help us but I want you to go back and check if everything is okay. We've got this now." Gai said. Kai heard the hitting of fist on fist.

"Are you sure?" Kai asked. She didn't hear anything else. Muttering, she headed back towards the cave. She had a feeling that Deidara had already led Kakashi and Naruto away. She felt useless, being the runner, but at least she was alone. She loved it, honestly. Thoughts to herself… she sighed.


	12. Chapter 12

The cave was now completely open, the sky opened up. Everything was quiet. Kai stopped running and calmly walked towards it. She felt for chakra. She felt all three, but it seemed that Sasori's was diminishing. He was dying. Kai went to step forward but she noticed the same was happening to Chiyo's, at a slower rate.

Kai jumped down and started walking in. She froze, seeing Sasori, or who she assumed to be Sasori, in between two puppets with swords through him. Sakura and Chiyo seemed wounded and exhausted. Sakura was standing in front of Sasori. Chiyo, was on her knees next to her.

"Lady Chiyo…" Kai ran in, kneeling next to her. She noticed Sasori's eyes on her but Kai noticed he was no longer a threat. Kai began infusing some of her own chakra into Lady Chiyo. Sasori had stopped talking and started again when Kai kneeled down.

"The end is near. But first, I'm going to do something pointless too. Think of it as a reward for defeating me. You wanted to know about Orochimaru, didn't you?" Kai's chakra flickered as she turned to stare at Sasori.

"Go to the Tenchi Bridge in the Village hidden in the Grass, ten days from now at noon."

"Why? What's there?" Sakura asked.

"One of Orochimaru's henchmen is working for me as a spy, and that's where I'm supposed to rendezvous with him. However, I don't think I -" Sasori stopped, his body ceasing function. Kai was biting her lip so hard it bled.

All three puppets fell, the man and woman ones laying there, holding Sasori. Kai closed her eyes taking a deep breath. Sakura turned to Lady Chiyo. "Well Lady Chiyo, it's finally over. We did it."

"No dear. The wrong person was defeated in battle today. It should've been me instead." Chiyo said sadly. Kai stopped infusing chakra and looked at her. "Just like he had done before, Sasori anticipated my final attack. But for some reason he didn't choose to dodge it. He chose to let his defenses down."

"You mean that he, wanted this?" Sakura asked. Kai looked at the puppet body.

"Hey, let me heal you guys." Kai said, standing.

"You've already done enough, Kai." Lady Chiyo said, standing and stumbling. Kai held her.

"What's going on in the enemy hideout?" Kai heard on her headset.

"It's over." She said, holding her hand to the button. "How are you guys?"

"Still going strong!" Gai said. Kai could tell by their breathing that they were lying. She heard Lee asking about Sakura.

"Everyone's okay." Kai said.

"Excellent! Now you guys find Kakashi and aid him" Gai said. Kai turned them down, looking at Sakura and Chiyo.

"Let's go find Kakashi-sensai." Kai said. Chiyo and Sakura nodded. They began walking when Lady Chiyo collasped onto her knees. Sakura and Kai ran to her side. "Lady Chiyo!"

"Here, let me heal you." Sakura said, healing the cut on her arm. Kai stood over them, watching. "Kai, change of plans." She leaned to Chiyo. "Hurry, we have to get back to the village to neutralize that poison. Our job here is finished, we beat him."

"Before we do that, there is something I must do. My job isn't done, yet." Chiyo said, looking up at the sky.

"Here, let's at least make travel easier." Kai said. She bit her tumb and made the handsigns. "Summoning Jutsu!" With a puff of smoke, a large owl hovered over them, finding a spot to land nearby. A harness of sorts was on him as well, hanging down by his belly. It was like a stall, large enough for a horse. "I usually ride on his back, but that stall is plenty safe as well."

"We'll ride on the back. Thank you Kai." Chiyo said. They slowly stood and jumpedo nto Daichi's back. Kai joined them. Together they flew into the sky.

Flying in the direction that Kakashi and Naruto had went, Kai kept her sharingan on focus, looking for them. Finding them, based on Naruto's tremendous chakra, Kai jumped down. Sakura and Chiyo followed suit, jumping in the trees. Daichi poofed away above them. They landed next to Naruto and Kakashi.

"Finally caught up to you." Sakura said.

"S-sakura, Kai." Naruto said.

"Finally caught up to us, nice work." Kakashi said, mainly looking at Kai. She nodded slightly. He probably wondered why she was even there.

"We felt a huge tremor a few minutes ago." Sakura said.

"I'm glad you're here. So you guys did it?"

"Yeah." Sakura said.

"It looks like you're still having some trouble here." Chiyo said.

"Unfortunately." Kakashi sighed.

"What about Gaara? Where's he?" Chiyo asked. They looked up into a branch where two clones were holding him. "Alright…" Kai bit her lip. The clang of Kunai's took them by surprise.

"It's Gai's team." Kakashi said. Kai went to activate her sharingan again but it only flickered, leaving her struggling not to bend over in pain. Muttering, she stood straighter.

"Everyone get out of here immediately!" Neji yelled.

Kai went to jump back, but she felt the chakra from Kakashi. She covered her face until it was gone. She noticed Kakashi out of breath and the fireball was gone. "Kakashi-sensai…?" She turned.

"What's going on?" Gai asked. They watched as a vortex formed in the sky. Absorbing the explosion.

"Wow…" Kai stared in awe. She knew the sharingan was powerful, but she didn't know it was that powerful. Kakashi breathed heavily next to her and fell over.

"Kakashi-sensai, hey are you alright?" Naruto asked, catching him.

"I don't get it. What did you do?"

"I sent to explosion, into a different space."

"You sent it somewhere?" Sakura asked.

"I don't understand."

"More importantly, is everyone okay?" Kakashi asked. Everyone nodded. Naruto's clones jumped down with Gaara.

They made their way to a field where Sakura attempted to heal Gaara. It was a given that he was already dead. She stood up slowly, shaking her head. Kai kneeled next to Kakashi, watching. Sakura stood and walked away from Gaara. Naruto was shaking with tears in front of them.

"Why? Why is it always Gaara? If he dies like this… He's the Kazekage! He just became the Kazekage."

"Try to calm yourself, Naruto Uzumaki." Lady Chiyo said.

"You shut up!" Naruto lashed out, turning around. Tears streamed down his face. "Just shut up! If all of you Sand shinobi would have never put a monster into him none of this would have happened! Did you ever even consider how Gaara felt? Did you ever even ask? Calling us jinchuriki. What gives you the right to label us? Who are you to decide someone else's fate?" At this point, Naruto was sobbing. Kai wanted to reach forward, but she knew it was best not too.

"I couldn't save Sasuke, and I couldn't save Gaara either. For three years I've trained so hard but nothing has changed."

Kai went to speak but Kakashi stopped her. Lady Chiyo stood and began walking to Gaara. Kai blinked, watching. Everyone else watched as well, Naruto's sobs stopping. An amazing amount of chakra came from Lady Chiyo's body.

"Lady Chiyo, that jutsu!" Sakura said. Lady Chiyo stopped to watch. Kai realized what was happening. So this is what she had to do.


	13. Chapter 13

"I don't get it, what's she trying to do?" Naruto asked. "Leave him alone will ya, what do you think you're doing?" He went to go forward but Sakura stopped him.

"It's going to be alright, she's bringing him back." A breeze blew by them.

"She's bringing him back? What are you talking about? Like how is that even possible?" Naruto asked. Kai let Sakura explain, letting herself sit back. Her cursemark ached something awful. Looking out into the distance, she wondered if Orochimaru was nearby. They had a hideout around here, one of her first ones. Could they have came back?

Kai watched Naruto help Lady Chiyo bring Gaara back. It was kind of amazing, honestly. Watching a life exchanged for a life. It… hurt. It was an uncomfortable hurt. Lady Chiyo spoke to Sakura, and caught Kai's attention.

"Kai, you have a strong heart with strong loyalties. Follow your heart." Kai blinked back surprise. Her eyes welled up, and she closed them, shaking her head. Chiyo spoke to Naruto again and Kai took a deep breath, meditating.

Within a few moments, Gaara was sitting up. Sand village shinobi had surrounded them. Gaara seemed so out of it. Kai smiled faintly. She leaned back, taking in the people. They all cheered happily. Breathing in the air, she sighed. She looked over at Chiyo. "Sakura?" She whispered.

"I'm okay." Sakura answered. Kai nodded slightly. She wanted to sleep. Sleep sounded great about now. It had already been a long day. It was evening already. Soon, she thought, soon. She just decided to half listen to conversations, letting her mind wander. They would be heading back soon.

It was a long walk back. Kai missed Curse more than ever on that walk. Usually, she was kept company by him on long mission such as this. They were slow paced as they kept moving. Kakashi had her send a message to the Sand with her owl Yori before they left.

Walking over the Horizon, as the sun rose behind them, Kai noticed the Sand villagers standing there walking. She smiled faintly. It wasn't home, but it was close enough. Everyone started cheering as they neared. Kai squinted, noticing someone holding Curse. As the people came running out to meet them, Curse broke away from the ninja holding him and ran to Kai. Kai braced herself as he headbutted her to the ground. Laughing, Kai held his head.

"I missed you boy." She said. He simply nickered in response. Naruto and Kankuro met the others while supporting Gaara. Kai didn't worry about them, only Curse. He seemed perfectly normal. Expect, for missing her of course. She stood and moved aside just enough to let her up. She figured he would be glued to her forever now. Kai walked to join the rest of the group, standing by Kakashi.

"Lord Kazekage, your people are waiting to welcome you home." Baki said. They had been talking. The crowd behind Baki parted, making a path. "Come, lead the way."

"Alright then, shall we go?" Kankuro said. They started walking.

"No wait." Gaara said. They stopped, confused. "Not yet." He turned to Chiyo's body, that they had carried back.

"Yes you're right." Temari said. Moving aside, they carried Lady Chiyo into the Sand.

"Let us honor the memory of Lady Chiyo. A moment of silence." Baki said. Kai bowed her head as they walked past.

The following morning they gathered there things one final time and went to meet the others. It was time to head out. "

"What? You're leaving already?" Kankuro asked. "You can stay a little longer, come on."

"Kankuro's right, at least a day or two." Temari said. "You need time to rest."

"Believe me, I wish we could." Naruto said.

"Me too. But we must report back to m'lady the Hokage right away." Sakura said.

"I see…" Temari sounded sad.

"Besides, if the Akatsuki have managed to penetrate this far into the Sand, I'm worried about the Leaf Village's safety."

"I understand you want to get back as soon as possible." Baki said.

"Yes, exactly" Kakashi agreed.

"Even so, in your condition…" Baki started.

"Oh don't worry." Kakashi looked towards Gai, who was supporting him. "I have comrades I can rely on to get me there."

"He's right about that!" Gai said, grinning.

"By the way, we already dispatched the preliminary report with Takamaru. But there was no mention in it the fates of the two Akatsuki members. Won't you want to inform the village?" Baki asked.

"I'll report that news to the Hokage myself." Kakashi spoke up. "You see, there's something else troubling me."

Kai looked at Kakashi, worried. Was it her? Did she do something wrong? She looked towards Naruto and Sakura. They didn't notice anything. She turned away, trying not to make it obvious. She just wanted to go home… at least, she thought that's what this feeling was.

They walked down to meet by Granny Chiyo's resting place. Kai had jumped onto Curse already and had him stand quietly as they walked up to it. They stood around in silence.

"She didn't want a headstone on her grave." Ebizu said, sadly. His hands brushed it. "But despite her wishes I thought it was better to have one. I thought for sure that people would want a place to come to remember her."

"Everyone, say your farewells." Kakashi said. Kai bowed her head in respect, Curse following suit. His head hung low to the ground, ears pinned down. They sat in silence. Kai felt, calm. They all raised their heads around the same time.

"Let's go." Gai said. They walked forward. Kai followed near Kakashi. She turned, seeing Sakura and Naruto standing at the grave still. They stopped, waiting.

"Sakura, Naruto, we really should be going!" Lee said. Naruto came forward, Sakura following behind. Kai smiled sadly. The bond her and Lady Chiyo was strong. She was happy for her.

"Well, so long." Kankuro said. They now stood at the entrance to the Sand. Kai watched Gaara reach out his hand to Naruto. She smiled. How far they had come. She thought back to when Gaara had tried to kill them once. Granted, that was years ago now. She wondered in Sasuke knew Gaara was the Kazekage. She shook her head. There she was again, thinking about him. How she wanted to go back…


	14. Chapter 14

When they arrived back into the Village, they went to the Hospital first. They waited patiently for Kakashi to wake up.

"Hey look, he's awake!" Naruto said.

"So I'm back here now huh?" Kakashi said.

"Good job Kakashi, well done." Tsunade walked in. Kai stepped back out of respect. Shizune followed her.

"M'Lady." Sakura said.

"Huh, Lady Tsunade." Kakashi went to sit up. Grunting, he fell back.

"No Kakashi-sensei, you mustn't push yourself!" Sakura said.

"Sakura's right. I examined you earlier, and it's going to be some time before you return to duty. It's bed rest for you for at least a week." Tsunade said. Kai watched as the whole time she talked, Naruto attempted to peek under the covers at Kakashi's face. She glared slightly. Sakura did too.

"Let's go Shizune." Tsunade said.

"Oh, M'lady wait!" Sakura said, running out to follow. Kai blinked, confused. Then she realized. She followed.

"What is it? Is it regarding…?" Tsunade let the question hang.

"Yes." Sakura said.

"So, have you told Kakashi about it yet?" Tsunade asked.

"Kakashi sensai's been out of it for a while, so no. Kai and I are the only ones that know." Sakura said. Tsunade stopped, turning. She focused on Kai for a moment, before turning her attention back to Tsunade.

"How about Naruto?" Tsunade asked.

"No. I thought it was better to consult you first." Sakura said.

"Tell me everything." Tsunade said. She started walking. "Kai, go ahead home."

"But Tsunade-sama-" Kai stepped forward.

"Go." Tsunade's voice was stern. "I'll call for you later." Kai didn't hold herself back from glaring. She ran the opposite direction, frustrated.

Could she not be trusted anymore? She just helped save the Kazekage but yet she couldn't even be trusted to attend this conversation for something she already heard. She knew they were going to be talking about the Tenchi Bridge. She wanted to go, she wanted to see if she'd see anyone she knew.

She stopped by the Hokage tower, watching Naruto jump off. The conversation must have been over already. She watched, before walking into the building. She took her time walking. She knew what the next conversation was going to entail. She met Tsunade in the hallway. Tsunade nodded in acknowledgement and Kai followed her back to her office.

"Kai. You did a great job on this mission. Kakashi said how well you did." Tsunade started. Kai looked at her.

"I want to go to the Tenchi Bridge with them." Kai said. "With my team." Tsunade sighed.

"Kai, listen to me carefully. As much as you want to go, you must realize that there is no way. You're still being carefully watched. You have to stay here. We can't risk you getting in contact with Orochimaru again."

Kai held her fist tightly. "You don't trust me." She growled.

"Kai, listen."

"No!" Kai snapped. She faltered, seeing the surprise on Tsunade's face. She went to speak, but closed her mouth instead. She stepped back, shaking her head.

"You're not going. You will be restricted to the village for now on." Tsunade's anger was coming off of her.

"What?" Kai said, upset.

"You heard me. Until I say otherwise, you'll stay in the village. I don't want you leaving these walls, you hear? Now leave."

Kai looked at Tsunade. The anger in her eyes made Kai even angrier. She shook her head, turning around and running out the door. Tears streamed in her eyes. She jumped from roof to roof until she got to her house. Without stopping, she leaped on Curse.

"Let's go." Kai said, kicking Curse to move. Curse obeyed, jumping into a gallop. They climbed up the side of the cliff, until they reached the top. Kai jumped off and found herself sitting on Lord Third's head. Pulling her knees to her chest, she buried her head into them, letting the tears fall.

Everything she'd been holding in was coming out. The pain of the last year without her brother, missing the one she loved most, and during it all being seen as a traitor. Most of the jonnin still looked at her like she would turn on them at any moment. After the tears stopped, she stared out at the village. Her home. Her eyes trailed to where the Uchiha Compound was held. It was hard to see from her point, but her heart pulled there. If things had been different…

 _You're weak_

Her fist hit the rock in frustration. Itachi ruined everything. They had a happy life. She had a family then. Now she was alone. "God, is this how Naruto feels?" Kai muttered. Of course not, she knew he had never known what a true family was like. She wondered if that felt worse. Getting up slowly, she sighed and started walking back down to the village. Curse followed at her heels, nickering softly on occasion.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she walked towards the nearest park. Her feet were just wandering, she wasn't thinking. Families were out playing, kids were having a grand time running around while the parents talked. Kai found a bench off to the side and sat down. Curse stood next to her, catching the attention of many kids.

"Can I pet him?" A small girl walked up, eyes bright and curious. Kai smiled faintly.

"If your parents say yes." Kai said. The girl went running to her parents, pointing back at her and jumping up and down. Kai watched the mom give a head nodd and the girl ran over. Curse stepped back, startled.

"Okay, if you want to pet him you have to be quiet and slow okay?" Kai said. The little girl nodded eagerly. Kai motioned for Curse to come forward. He lowered his head to the girl and she touched him lightly on the nose. Her feet danced and she giggled.

"He tickles!" She cried. Kai felt her heart grow just the slightest. She turned to Kai. "Thank you ninja lady!" She said, and ran back to her parents. Kai watched as she joined back into the game of tag happening.

"Do you remember Curse? That was my reaction when I met you the first time." Kai said. Curse nickered in response. "Of course, you were so young then." She sighed. "Shisui and Itachi had brought you to me, as a joke. Of course, I begged Momma and Dad to keep you." She leaned back, looking at the sky. "And… now we're here."

The morning grew to afternoon, and parents began leaving with their children. The heat of the day chased them off. Kai kept her spot, which was becoming shady now. A strong chakra came towards her and she glanced up. "L-lord Jiraiya!" She stumbled over her words, surprised. He grinned.

"Care if I join you?" He said. Kai shook her head. He sat down next to her. They were silent together. Kai felt, comforted. His chakra was as powerful as Orochimaru's. It made her feel like she was sitting at Breakfast or afternoon tea. Granted, it was rare, but it was a calm time where, for once, the chakra wasn't aimed at her.

It was almost an hour later before either spoke. Jiraiya said something first. "You have no intentions of staying here, do you?" He asked. Kai was startled by his question. Looking at him, she noticed he wasn't looking at her. Leaning back, he sighed. "You two are a lot alike, in some ways."

Orochimaru. He was comparing her to Orochimaru. She turned her head the other way. Jiraiya stood up. "Well, I better get going. It's about time for me to see Tsunade anyway."

"This was a distraction for me, wasn't it?" Kai said quietly. Jiraiya turned.

"Hm?"

"Keeping me from intruding on my team. Keep me here."

"Kai-" Jiraiya started. Kai shook her head, beating her fist as the tears fell onto her lap. Jiraiya, whose hand was reached out, pulled it back. He watched her for a moment, before sighing and walking away.

Kai watched him leave. She wanted to follow desperately. Sitting a while longer, she got determined. She knew what she had to do. Closing her eyes, she felt for anyone watching her. It was almost surprising, Tsunade didn't have anyone watching her. She probably wanted to keep it under wraps. Or she simply trusted Kai. She wasn't sure.

"Come on Curse, let's go home." Kai said. Curse nickered, following her. They walked through the streets. Kai stopped to grab dinner from Ichiraku. Taking the warm container home, she walked into the house after leading Curse back to his pen. The house was dusty. She had never really gotten around to it. She sat down to eat. This would be her last meal here.


	15. Chapter 15

After dinner, Kai began to pack. She tried to make it seem as if she was just cleaning, in case anyone was in fact watching. Her travel bag was full within a few minutes. Kai hovered over her bed, noticing the picture of Team 7, when she first started to be a ninja. She paused, looking at it. Next to it, the last family picture she had. She stared at Itachi. Did he know what he was going to do then? Had he already planned it out? There was a blank look on his face.

"Alright…" She sighed and sat back down at her table. They would wonder where she was. She pulled out a pen and piece of paper and began writing.

 _To whomever: I'm sorry. The Leaf Village is my home, but it's not complete unless my brother is here. If, by chance, he comes back, know that I will be with him. However, I can't stay here. I'm sorry._

 _海_

With the note written, Kai took her stuff outside and set it in the shelter she had for Curse. She fed him for the day. She would leave that night.

When nightfall came, Kai went outside. She slugged her bag over her shoulder and put on Curse's bridle. He seemed to know what was going to happen. Jumping on his back, she began heading towards the Uchiha Compound. By now, they would be able to squeeze through into the woods. Kai had avoided it until now.

It wasn't long. They arrived and Kai jumped down. One last check. She felt for any chakra, but couldn't find anyone's. It seems she wasn't being followed. They would have stopped her by now, she thought.

The hole was still in the wall. Kai had hurried through the compound, avoiding looking around. Jumping through, she pulled Curse to follow. He stepped over and stood patiently. Kai did not hesitate. Jumping on his back, they galloped into the night. If she hurried, she could reach them right as they got to the bridge.

It was a few days later before Kai managed to reach the bridge. She had passed up Naruto and the others, or at least she assumed. She took to crossing the bridge before she could think twice. Her heart was pounding with excitement. She was finally here! She was going to see her brother.

Assuming the spy was coming from the other side, Kai crossed and headed forward. She let Curse trot now, listening and waiting. Someone was going to come by, she was sure of it. "Can you believe it Curse? Finally heading home." Kai said. Curse snorted in response. She rolled her eyes.

A kunai came from up ahead. Kai squeaked, pulling Curse to the side. She jumped down, grabbing her sword. The bushes ahead shook and she started to pull out her weapon. A cloaked figure came out, gripping a kunai. Kai stared at them before dropping her hand.

"Kabuto?!"

"Kai? Oh my God." Kabuto dropped his hood, revealing his face. Kai covered her mouth. Her heart was beating faster now. She could pass out.

"Kabuto I'm so sorry." Kai said. Kabuto, who was originally ecstatic to see her, dropped his expression.

"You left us." He said. Kai looked down.

"It wasn't on purpose." She stopped. "I didn't want to stay away. I got caught."

"You shouldn't have been there." Kabuto said. Kai nodded slightly.

"I know… I know I'm so sorry." Kai said. Kabuto sighed.

"Our hideout is 700m to the west, then turn north 300m." Kabuto said. "Sasuke should still be there." Kai nodded. She wanted to hug him.

"Wait, are you the spy?"

"What do you mean?" Kabuto said. Kai shook her head.

"Nevermind." Kabuto watched her.

"You know something." Kabuto said. Kai nodded slightly. "Well, go, we can talk later."

"Okay." Kai said. She wanted to hug him, but he walked past her. He brushed her arm so slightly that she thought she was imagining it.

"Alright, ready Curse?" Kai said as Kabuto left. Curse nickered. It was now or never. They headed the way Kabuto said to go.

Kai spotted the hideout as they neared. It was one she had been in before. That was calming to her. She jumped down, walking Curse down the steps slowly. Once she reached the inside, she pulled him into a side room near the entrance. "Stay here, okay?" She pulled off his bridle, letting him get comfortable. Hanging it on a hook nearby, she walked slowly into the hideout.

Her hands trailed the walls as she walked. She missed being here. Her feet led her to the training clearing. She felt the most familiar chakra coming from there. She walked in slowly. Up on a rock, facing the other way, was her brother. She kept herself from crying. He turned just the slightest, looking over his shoulder.

"Nii-san." Kai said. Sasuke jumped down walking towards her.

"Kai…" He said. Kai ran to meet him, grabbing him in a hug. It took him a moment to

hug back, but she felt his arms tight around her. It wasn't long before he pushed her away. Kai looked up.

"I know-"

"I'm glad you're back." Sasuke said. Kai smiled faintly.

"Me too."

"Orochimaru's going to have your head. He knows where you went." Sasuke said, his face was worried.

"Oh shit. I forgot about that." Kai held her head. "I'm dead. He's going to kill me, literally." Sasuke just looked at her. Kai's stomach grumbled. They both chuckled the slightest.

"Go eat something quick, before they get back." Sasuke said.

"Otou-san left too?" Kai asked.

"They both did, as far as I can tell." Sasuke responded. Kai nodded slightly.

"Alright, I'll be back." Kai headed for the kitchen. Food sounded amazing right now. She searched the cupboards for something, anything. She found rice, and in the fridge was a pack of chicken. She would have prefered beef, but this would do.

Cooking was wonderful. The smell made her mouth water. When it was done cooking, she platted it and set it on the table. She sat down and ate. Slowly, because it had been over two days since her last meal. She wasn't able to pack much food. Sighing, she let her body absorb each bite.

"Well would you look who's back." A voice called. Kai held her head. She was enjoying the peace. Now she wanted to leave again. The familiar red haired man came in. The static made the hair on her arms stand.

"Yeah, I am Ushigo. Please don't remind me how annoying you are. I might leave again." Kai said. Ushigo laughed.

"You're not going anywhere again." He grabbed a piece of fruit from the table, tossing it in the air. "Orochimaru's going to kill you." He sang.

"Don't remind me." Kai muttered, taking a bite of food. Ushigo sat down next to her, on

the table. Kai pushed her food away from him.

"Last meal? Seems kinda plain." Ushigo said. Kai rolled her eyes.

"I haven't eaten in two days, leave me alone." Kai stuffed more food in her mouth. Ushigo shrugged, getting up.

"I'll see you at your funeral then." He said. Kai looked down at her food. Ushigo left the room, leaving her alone again. Suddenly her food wasn't appetizing. She looked at the time. She was almost an hour ahead of them. Assuming the fight lasted an hour, she had time for a quick shower. Throwing her food away, she headed to what her room would be. It was empty, unsurprisingly.

Kai set her bag down, locked the door, and undressed. The shower felt amazing on her skin. Four days almost, since she had left. She wondered if anyone had seen her note. She assumed. They'd know she was missing by now.

Letting the water wash her body clean, she favored her left shoulder. Her cursemark still ached from the previous mission, and now it was irritated to be back near Orochimaru. She hugged her body, worried. What was he going to do to her? She wanted to leave now, hopefully avoid him. She hadn't thought about him until Sasuke had said something.

That was something she'd have to worry about later.


	16. Chapter 16

Kai got dressed and sat down on her bed. She'd feel them coming in from where she was. Orochimaru's room was almost across from hers. She fiddled with her headband. She should keep it off. Orochimaru might be less likely to harm her if she didn't have it on. Well, at least not harm her as bad. She tied it back on her head anyway.

A shaking made Kai jump. He was back, it seemed. Kabuto was with him. She was confused about the whole matter. She got up, pacing. Her bag stayed on her back. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next. She felt for their chakras. There was one, an unfamiliar one. Kai did recognize it from when she'd passed up Naruto and the others. She bit her lip. No, she'd stay put. For now.

Kai felt Sasuke training again. She got up. This time, it seemed Orochimaru was with him. She got up and headed out of the room. " _Deep breaths…"_ she kept telling herself. The idea of seeing Orochimaru again was scaring her. She admired the man, deep down. Yet he was still terrifying to them.

Walking slowly, she stopped outside where she would find them. She closed her eyes and stepped in the door. She stood awkwardly to the side, noticing Orochimaru and Sasuke sparring. Well, sparring and talking. Kai stood still, waiting.

"I wondered when you would join us." Orochimaru called. Kai gasped as he was behind her. She turned around as she stepped back. "Come." He said. Kai nodded slightly and started to turn back forward. Orochimaru bent down to her ear. "We'll _talk_ later."

"H-hai, otou-san." Kai muttered. She ran to meet Sasuke, joining them in the sparring. She was sloppy, and Sasuke had to keep her and himself on track. After awhile of training, she fell back. Muttering in frustration she went to get up. Orochimaru put his hand up.

"That's enough." He said. "Go, rest." Kai tilted her head at him, confused. Sasuke shrugged and turned.

"Come on Kai." He said. Kai nodded and hurried to follow. She waited for Orochimaru to say something but he didn't. Sasuke and Kai walked to his room.

"You can stay in here for now, if you want. I know you're worried about him." Sasuke said. Kai nodded slightly. "Don't worry, if he's smart he won't do anything to hurt you." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He sat down on the bed, laying on his back. Kai sat in a chair on the side, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Thanks, nii-san." Kai muttered.

"Hn." Sasuke said, closing his eyes.

It was an hour or so later when Kai jolted awake. She looked around, Sasuke wasn't in the room. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and pushed her legs down. Sitting normally now, she tried to get her bearings. Waking up from a nap always threw her off. Waking up in Orochimaru's hideout after not being there for so long just added to the disorientation.

"Well, I guess I should probably find Sasuke." Kai muttered. She didn't want to move, her body was stiff. Next time, she wouldn't sleep in such an uncomfortable position. She got up slowly, letting her body readjust.

Kai couldn't imagine Sasuke went far. She looked around, hesitant. Actually, she wasn't sure this was even the same room that he had brought her to. She looked at the bed. Her sound headband was sitting on the bed. So that's it, he had moved where they were. She giggled slightly. She must have been snoring. She hadn't slept well the last three days.

She opened her door slowly. She felt for chakras around the hideout. She felt Naruto and Sakura. There were two other strange ones, ones she had felt when she passed them before. Why were they here? She felt her stomach tie into a knot.

There was a large explosion that knocked Kai off her feet. "What the hell?" She yelled. Getting up, she looked around. Where did it come from? She muttered to herself, running in that general direction.

She stopped in the hallway, seeing the bright light. She just got here and they were already going to have to move. Muttering, she stepped towards the light, watching carefully. She saw Sakura, and the other boy that replaced her on the team. She could see, on the other side of the hallway, was Naruto and the man that replaced Kakashi for the time being. She stood in the darkness, hiding her chakra. They didn't need to know she was there.

The man, the sensei, stepped out. He talked about something with bringing Sasuke back to the Leaf. She saw the black haired boy drag out his sword. Sai, was that his name? She hissed, getting ready to intervene if needed. She couldn't really hear them, she was too far back into the hall. She could only see them well. She felt the chakras as well. Sasuke's rose sharply. Kai bit her lip. He was getting upset. He was so irrational when he was upset. What if he hurt them?

Naruto said something about severing his bond with Kai. Sasuke's chakra spiked and Kai bit her lip. What would he say? She scooted closer, to listen. Sasuke didn't seem to say anything. She heard him say something about them sharing a common goal. "Your goal." Kai muttered to herself. She wanted desperately to go out, but she waited in the shadows.


	17. Chapter 17

Kai wished she hadn't ate. Her stomach twisted as she stood there, listening as much as she could. She wanted them to leave. She wanted Sasuke to stop talking nonsense. He was saying such awful things. Had he grown so cold hearted in the time she was gone? What had Orochimaru been telling him? She was glad he still treated her the same, even if he was so hard to reach now.

She gasped as she saw Sasuke suddenly standing in front of Naruto. She went to move but held herself back. No. Getting involved would cause problems. He drew his sword and she gasped. He couldn't!

As Sasuke went to attack, Sai got close enough to block the attack. Kai gave a breath of relief. She felt electric chakra and looked over. Sasuke had pushed everyone away with his chidori. Kai was in awe. It was his entire body. She wished to be able to do it as well.

Sakura came at Sasuke now. Kai closed her eyes and tried to just feel for when she'd need to get involved. She prayed that Sasuke wouldn't attempt to kill anyone. She'd never forgive him. He'd know that, surely?

She turned to look again, noticing that there was a wood dome. Sasuke was standing back at the top of the wall. She stepped her foot out just the slightest. Now what was he going to do? Everyone seemed to be asking themselves the same question. Naruto yelled, and Kai flinched. "He's using your body!"

It was true. She was only there to keep Sasuke there. Well, she was. Was she worth anything now, that she had left and he was still there? Would Orochimaru just get rid of her now, since he had his hands on Sasuke's heart already? She shook her head, closing her eyes. No. She was still worth something… right?

Kai jumped as she felt Orochimaru's presence. "I wouldn't bother with with that jutsu. Be smart now." He said.

"Let me go." Sasuke said.

"Now, now." Kabuto said, appearing next to Sasuke and Orochimaru. Kai stepped to the edge of the hallway, being ready to jump out to meet them. "I'm not going to tell you again. Watch your tone with Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto smirked. "You'd have a thing or two to learn from your Sister there."

"Give me a reason to stop." Sasuke said.

"You do remember the Akatsuki are on the move now, don't you?" Kabuto said. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "We want the good people of the Leaf Village to get rid of them for us. As many of them as possible. If the other Akatsuki interfere, you might not get your precious revenge." Kabuto added.

"That's a pitiful excuse." Sasuke said.

"Do you really want to kill them in front of your sister?" Kabuto said. Sasuke tensed. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. "Kai, come on." Kabuto called, looking where Kai was. Kai gulped. She lept out, jumping down next to Naruto before jumping up. Naruto saw her pass by him in slow motion.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…" Kai said, jumping up next to Orochimaru. She stood on the opposite side. Sasuke glared at her. She looked away.

"I don't understand. Kai, why?" Naruto said. Kai looked at him sadly. Orochimaru let go of Sasuke's hand.

"We're leaving." He said. Kai's face was sad, she could feel her chest heavy. Vanishing, she left before the other three, finding her Horse. This was it. She gathered Curse and her things, and met the three out in woods.

They went off, heading to what Kai assumed was another hideout. She was quiet. Her fist tightly wrapped in Curse's mane. Crying now would be a death sentence. Yet, she couldn't keep a few tears from falling. She wiped them away quickly before anyone noticed. Ushigo, according to Orochimaru, had already left and was going to meet them at the next hideout.


	18. Chapter 18

The silence was killing Kai inside. She wanted to say something. Talk to someone. There were things she thought of telling Sasuke. How old man Ichiraku was still cooking ramen, and how the old lady they would see at the grocery store still was kicking. She realized, however, that this was pointless information for Sasuke. He no longer wanted anything to do with the Hidden Leaf Village.

"We'll stop here to rest." Orochimaru said. They all stopped. Kai slowed down Curse and jumped down, standing near him. Sasuke stood closer to Orochimaru then he did Kai. It broke her heart just a bit. "Kai, Kabuto, go scout the area." Nodding, the two took off.

Kai jumped into the trees finding the tallest one and looking out. Kabuto took a different direction. To the east, there was a small village. Kai had to squint to see it. There was maybe ten houses total. To the North, nothing but trees and a mountain. Kai jumped down, meeting Kabuto.

"Anything?" He asked. Kai couldn't help but notice the monotone voice. He never used that with her.

"A village, to the east." Kai said. "It's tiny, and I had to squint to see it."

"Alright." Kabuto started walking. Kai followed him, slowly. Kabuto took no notice as they arrived back into the camp. Curse had nosed over to Sasuke and was letting Sasuke pet him. Kai smiled faintly. At least Sasuke and Curse still got along. Kabuto went up to Orochimaru and they quietly talked. Kai figured about the scouting. She walked over to Sasuke.

"He missed you." She said quietly. Sasuke didn't say anything, just scratched Curse behind the ears. "I missed you…" Kai added. Sasuke stopped. He sighed.

"I know." He said. He didn't say anything else. Kai bit her lip. Was that it? Sasuke looked over at Kai. His eyes were soft. "I missed you too." He added. Kai relaxed. The night was growing nearer. They did not make a fire.

"Kai, you and I will watch first." Orochimaru said. Kai gulped.

"Yes sir…" She said. Orochimaru's eyes didn't betray his emotions. Kai had no idea if he was angry with her, or just teasing her own emotions. Orochimaru walked over to the other side of the small clearing, and stood against a tree. Kabuto and Sasuke both took their leave, hiding in a tree above Orochimaru. Kai laid on top of Curse, listening and watching. Her eyes stayed open, and she made sure to shift a few times so Orochimaru knew she was awake.

Near midnight, Kai jolted. She closed her eyes to sense her surroundings, then fell asleep. It was only for a few minutes, as she only dreamed of falling. She glanced over, feeling Orochimaru's eyes burning into her soul. Avoiding eye contact, she slowly and quietly got down from Curse and sat against a tree. It was dark, with only the moon showing light.

In the next hour, Sasuke came over to Kai and tapped her on the shoulder. Kai looked up. "You can rest now." Kai simply nodded in response. She was beyond exhausted. She headed over to the spot Sasuke had been sitting. It was a comfortable branch that was wide enough she could pull her legs up to her chest. It took moments before she fell asleep.

The sun began rising. Kai was asleep still, but everyone else was awake. Sasuke glanced over to her.

"I'll get her up." Sasuke said. Orochimaru followed his gaze.

"No, Kabuto can. Let's get a head start." Orochimaru said. Kabuto watched them leave and walked over to Kai. He knew Orochimaru wasn't actually leaving. He was going to see what they would do, now that he was gone. Kabuto walked over to Kai.

"Hey, Kai. Get up." He said. Kai groaned. She stretched out her legs and jumped down, stumbling from the fast movement.

"They left us?" Kai said. Kabuto didn't answer her, he just turned and started walking. Kai sighed, her face falling. She motioned Curse over, jumped on his back, and followed Kabuto.

They arrived at the hideout around noon. Orochimaru led the way, with Kabuto and Sasuke following at their heels. Kai, who was walking, turned to Curse. "Hey, I want you to stay in the area ok? Listen for my call if I need you." She gave him a hug. "See you tonight before bed ok?" Curse nudged her in response, blowing air.

Taking a deep breath, she followed the group inside. Her bag slung over her one shoulder and she ran to catch up. She walked behind everyone.

"Eat, and then rest. We'll pick up where we left off this evening." Orochimaru said.

"Hmph." Sasuke muttered. He looked at Kai. "Come on."

"Oh, ok." Kai said. She went to walk forward.

"Actually, Kai, I need you with me." Orochimaru said. Kai stopped mid-step and turned to face Orochimaru. Sasuke watched, a flicker of worry on his face before walking to his room. Kabuto walked away as well, leaving Kai. She gulped. She was so dead.


	19. Chapter 19

Kai followed Orochimaru down the hall. They stopped at her room, where she dropped off her bag, before continuing to their destination. Kai hadn't been in this hideout before. Hands shaking, she stuffed them in her pockets so he wouldn't notice.

"Otou-San, where are we going?" Kai asked nervously. Orochimaru didn't turn to look at her, but she could feel him smirking.

"Training." He answered. Kai knew that wasn't all. She kept walking, tightening her fist.

They arrived to a small clearing, what Kai assumes was a training ground. She looked up, seeing the large walls that protected them from view. Orochimaru stopped midway, turning towards her. Kai pulled her hands out of her pockets.

Kai didn't have time to react before Orochimaru was in front of her. She attempted to counteract, but his shin met her side. Her back hit the wall before she knew what was happening.

Blood dribbled from her mouth and she wiped it away, standing. Her body swayed. Orochimaru was on her again, throwing a punch. Kai managed to avoid her face, but his punch held her hair against the wall. Panicked, she tried to pull away without pulling her hair out. Orochimaru punched her in the gut, causing her to double over.

Stepping back, Orochimaru watched as Kai's body fell forward. Her arms crossed over her stomach as she gasped in pain. Orochimaru stepped back closer to her, grabbing her chin. "Think of this as our talk." He said, making her eyes meet his. Kai closed her eyes in pain. Her cursemark was throbbing.

"Don't you ever forget who owns you." Orochimaru hissed in her ear. Already struggling to comprehend, Kai turned to look at Orochimaru, confused. He pushed her down on her stomach, pulling out a Kunai. Kai struggled against him. Her body was still worn.

"You are _mine_." Orochimaru hissed. Kai cried out as she felt his Kunai in her back. She couldn't tell what he was doing, but it felt like he was carving into her. Tears fell as she didn't stop herself from screaming in pain.

Orochimaru stood, leaving Kai's body limp. He admired his handiwork. It was hard to tell, with the blood seeping around it, but the idea was clear. Kai was his, and his only. Forever she would be that. For now she bore his name on her body, as if the cursemark wasn't enough.

大蛇丸.

Orochimaru turned and walked away, leaving Kai there. Kai's body was shaking, and she laid on the ground, letting the tears fall. Her eyes were blank as she slowly slipped into an unconscious state. The blood seeped around the wound and began to clot.

Kai didn't know when she woke up. Startled, she tried to sit up. Sharp pain shot through her back, causing her to hiss. Slowly, she stood up, holding onto the closest wall. The pain was making her vision blurry. Blinking, she stumbled to the nearest room, which happened to be Kabuto's.

Kai prayed that he wasn't there. When she finally reached the door, she opened it to the empty room. Sighing with relief, she walked in. The bathroom light was on, and she didn't even bother to shut the door. Turning on the shower, she undressed. Moving her arms pulled the scabbing on her back. She could feel fresh blood. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water run the words. It burned, and she held herself up with the back of the shower.

"Need help?" A voice spoke. Kai jumped, slipping on the wet surface. She found herself in Kabuto's arms. She blushed, covering herself.

"N-no." She said quietly. She stood, turning away and shutting the shower curtain. Kabuto watched her, worried. Orochimaru had come back with blood on his clothes, and he knew what had happened.

"Kai." Kabuto said. Kai poked her head out, looking at him. She turned the water off.

"Yeah… I could use some help." She said. Kabuto held a towel up as Kai stepped out. She turned around, letting him cover her. He was gentle when he placed it on her back. He took another towel and dried her hair. Kai's legs were still shaking, and when Kabuto noticed he helped her to the bed. Kai sat quietly as he brushed out her hair.

When he was done, he pulled out some ointment from his drawer. Kai turned to watch him. The liquid was not strong smelling, which Kai assumed in the first place. The clear, yellow tinted substance came out easily into Kabuto's hand. She turned the other way as he placed his hand on the wound.

"Ah!" Kai hissed, jerking away. The ointment felt as if it was burning her skin off. Within seconds it resolved into a cool feeling. Kabuto chuckled.

"It's going to burn at first."

"You're kidding." She murmured. Kabuto resumed, making sure to keep from opening the wound again. After he put the ointment on, he wrapped it gently.

"Come back tomorrow after training and I'll dress it again for you." He said. Kai sighed.

"He really expects me to train with this?" Kai said. Kabuto was quiet. Kai sighed, pulling her tank top over her shoulders slowly, then pulling it down to her waist. She turned to look at Kabuto. There was resentment in his eyes. "I'm sorry…" Kai said quietly.

"Sorry for what?" He stood, putting the ointment away and walking to the other side of the room.

"For leaving. For leaving you."

Kabuto was silent again. Kai looked away, hands folded in her lap as her feet dangled off the end of the bed.

"It was hell when he found out where you went." Kabuto said quietly, after what seemed like an eternity. Kai looked up. Kabuto was still facing the other way. "He spoke only of ending you, in one way or another." He sighed. "He only stopped when Sasuke overheard him one day, and threatened to leave."

"I didn't tell them anything about the Sound Village." Kai said quietly. "To be fair, they didn't ask. They asked if Sasuke was alive, that's about it."

"It didn't matter Kai." Kabuto turned around to face her. "You left. You left us." He stopped, hesitating. "He took his anger out on me. I was the one in love with you. I was the one to have noticed, to have said something." Kabuto tightened his fist, shaking his head. "You're so incredibly lucky that's all he did to you. Kai he was ready to kill you on sight."

Kai was quiet this time. The emotion in Kabuto's voice was heartbreaking. She didn't think of them, how they would be the ones punished for her actions until; if, she returned. Standing up, she walked to the door and stepped out. Kabuto watched her, wanting to speak, but turned away. She shut the door behind her and walked slowly back to her own room, stopping only to check on Curse.

Greeted with a wave of dust, Kai moved her hand frantically in front of her face, sneezing. This place hadn't been used in a long time, she could tell. Sighing, she started to dust, leaving the door open as she beat her mattress, shook out the sheets, and brushed off the stands. Her bathroom could wait, she'd wipe it down after she showered tomorrow.

Tomorrow. She could only expect to be beaten again, just like today. Granted, today wasn't training. With the dusting done, she shut the door and laid down on her bed, looking at the ceiling. With today's events, she felt confused. The look on Naruto's face as she stepped past him sat in her mind. Where was he tonight? Was he hurt as much as he seemed? Sakura too? Tsunade-sama would be so disappointed in her.

What about Kakashi-sensei? He had to know, she wouldn't leave her brother forever. The time and patience he had with her the past year had made it possible to fit back in to the Leaf. Kai rolled over, staring at the clock. 9:56 P.M. She'd be expected early, possibly before dawn. Closing her eyes, she silently willed herself to sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

The sound of birds did not wake Kai. Nothing had woken Kai, as she laid in bed, staring off into space. She managed maybe an hour of sleep, before the pain of the previous days training kept her awake. She longed to sleep in like she did at the Leaf, but she knew that would no longer be the case here. It was only four, she wouldn't be expected for another hour. If she managed to fall asleep now, though, she more than likely wouldn't wake back up in time.

She swung her legs over the bed, watching her bare feet dangle off the edge. Her brain was struggling to keep up, having not slept the last few days. Holding her head, she reached with her free hand to open her drawer. Thankfully, she had enough clothes with her. Grabbing the set she had made the night before, she drug herself to the bathroom. The drawer remained open as she reached for the light above her in the bathroom. Wincing, she pulled the string and the dull light shone enough for her to see. The mirror was covered in dust thick enough it was hard to see, the shower glass as well. The sink was fairly clean, she figured water was ran recently.

There would be no shower this morning for her, so she ran hot water in the sink to wash her face. It felt nice, but was putting her back to sleep. She changed it too cold, splashing it in her eyes once before turning off the water. After drying her face, she stepped into her clean clothes, before coming out of the bathroom. Grabbing the hairbrush, she walked around the room, pulling the knots from her hair.

"Hey." A voice called. Kai jumped, backing into the corner of the open drawer. She drew in a breath, pain clouding her eyes for a second. She looked at the intruder.

"Nii-san, seriously?" She muttered. He smiled faintly. Rolling her eyes, Kai shut the drawer and set her brush down on the top.

"I figured we could walk together." Sasuke said. He was standing behind the door. Kai figured he snuck in while she was in the bathroom. The light was still off in the bedroom, so she had no idea he was there.

"Yeah. that's fine." Kai said. She turned on the light, to see Sasuke. He was muscular, more than she remembered. His hair was thicker, but not much longer at the moment. He probably kept it cut well. His eyes, made her heart ache. They no longer held the brightness that she could see occasionally. They were dull and hard. A flash of love for his sister, but nothing else.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked, his voice changing. It was quieter, more concerned. "Orochimaru came to train me with blood on him. I didn't know…"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kai said, slightly irritated. It was her fault, her punishment. Why were they so concerned? She didn't see fault in it, but she could tell Sasuke was trying too hard to care as much as he sounded.

"Alright, let's go. Don't forget your sword." Sasuke said, opening the door and walking out. Kai grabbed it before following. He seemed concerned for a moment, but his sudden change in tone and topic made Kai all the more sure he was trying to hard to sound concerned.

She let Sasuke lead the way. The halls were smaller here, which explained why Kai found it so easy to find Kabuto's room after her punishment. Her back ached and she was pretty sure she had some minor internal bleeding from the punches. None of that mattered though. As they neared the area they would be training today, she could feel Orochimaru's chakra. They walked in to Orochimaru standing there, waiting expectantly.

"You're usually early, Sasuke." Orochimaru said. Kai looked at the sky, it wasn't even five as is.

"Hn."

"To start off, I want you two to spar." Orochimaru waved his hand in front of him. "I'll be

watching and giving pointers."

Sasuke nodded to Kai, and they jumped back from each other. Kai reached for her sword and Sasuke as well. Orochimaru didn't speak, but when the look in his face changed the two charged each other. There was a clang of metal on metal as they met in the middle. Kai's face showed determination, while Sasuke's remained blank. As if he was just going through the motions. He drew his sword back slightly from Kai's, making her attempt to push it away.

The chakra surprised her first, then the lightning style creeping up on her sword made her jump away. Sasuke's sword stayed put, he raised an eyebrow. Kai looked at her own sword, wanting to make hers do what his just did.

"You're leaving your guard down, Kai." Orochimaru sounded annoyed. Kai looked up to see Sasuke above her, sword ready to strike. Kai met it with her own as he pinned her down. Struggling, she managed to push back enough to let her roll away. She stood, swinging around when Sasuke tried to strike again. He jumped back. Her Sharingan now sat in her eyes, flickering once.

Sasuke smiled, awakening his in return. The two returned to sword on sword combat. Kai eventually dropped the sword. Her body ached. She would be better off hand to hand. Sasuke dived at her, and Kai slid past him, whipping her legs up to meet his back. Sasuke stumbled forward. Out of breath, Kai stood still. She glanced at Orochimaru. She was more than ready to stop, and Sasuke seemed to be getting there as well. However Orochimaru was intent on them continuing.

Sasuke came at Kai again, faking her out by going just past her. "Are you alright?" He whispered, before getting behind her and launching a punch. Kai turned and met him.

"Yeah." Kai breathed out, blocking his punch. Sasuke nodded slightly. He threw a punch at Kai, which she dodged. She threw one at him, barely missing his face. Sasuke turned his body and shoved Kai to the side. She gasped and fell on her side. Wincing in pain, she looked up at him.

"That's enough." Orochimaru finally said. Kai looked up at him. Sasuke stood over her, offering a hand up. Kai took it. Her sharingan had long faded by now. "Sasuke, take a break. Kai, with me."

"She's deserved a break." Sasuke spoke up. Kai turned to look at him. She knew better than to speak out against Orochimaru. Sasuke, on the other hand, took it as a challenge.

"She'll get her break when I tell her she can." Orochimaru answered. Sasuke glared slightly.

"She hasn't slept in four days, she can't keep going." Sasuke continued.

"Nii-san…" Kai muttered, willing Sasuke to shut up. Orochimaru smirked. He turned to Kai, thinking. Kai shrunk a little, afraid.

"Then both of you will fight against me." Orochimaru said. He launched himself at Kai. Kai squeaked, blocking him. Sasuke came to her aid and the two sparred with Orochimaru for the next few hours.

It was almost noon by the time they stopped. Kai collapsed at Orochimaru's feet. Her body shook. She coughed, spitting out blood. Everything hurt, and her dursemark had spread down her arm.

Sasuke was weakened as well, breathing heavy. There were cuts throughout his body and his sharingan had faded within the last hour. Orochimaru was standing there, barely a scratch. He'd come at them with the intent to kill, and the siblings spent most of their time defending than countering.

"That's enough for now." Orochimaru said, taking a deep breath and straightening his posture. He turned to Kai. "I expect you in the lab tonight." He said, then walked away. Kai bit her lip, trying to avoid the tears.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sasuke said, bending down next to her. He waited until Orochimaru had left. "What does he want you in the lab for?"

Kai shook her head, letting the tears fall. She hit the ground in frustration. "I'm his fucking test subject, that's why!" She yelled. "It's all I'm worth." The overwhelming urge to cough cut her off, and she spit out more blood.

"Kai…"

"Stop pretending you care." Kai muttered. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm not pretending." He glared. Kai looked at him in the eyes.

"Earlier, you asked if I was alright then completely changed the subject. Before we came here."

"You said you were fine."

"Fine?! You think I actually meant that?" Kai felt the most angry she's ever been at her brother. "You've known me all my life, and you actually thought I meant it when I said I was fine?"

"If you weren't so damn stubborn it'd be a bit easier." Sasuke grunted. Kai stood slowly. She got close to Sasuke, enough that she was invading his space.

"And who do you think I got that from? Hm?" She said. She pointed at his chest, looking him in the eyes. Her other arm held around her stomach. "You."

"Kai this is pointless." Sasuke pushed her arm down. Kai stayed put for a moment, before relaxing her body slightly.

"You're right. Maybe I should have stayed in the Leaf." She turned and started limping towards the rooms.

"Maybe I wouldn't be like this if you hadn't left in the first place!" Sasuke yelled at her. This time tears were sneaking down his face. "You left me alone, Kai."

"Do you really think I meant to stay there?" Kai turned around. Sasuke held her gaze.

"You didn't make an effort to come back." Sasuke said. Kai laughed.

"HA! Seriously?" She waved her arms out. "They locked me in the hell hole of a jail, Sasuke! They kept me in a straight jacket for the first month. After that I had to sneak push ups and sit ups, the bare minimum to keep my body in shape! None of our friends ever got used to me being back. Not even Kakashi-sensei. Yet I was being guarded by an ANBU every day. Do you really fucking think I didn't try?! I wasn't even allowed to use chakra until this past month!" Kai kicked the ground, frustrated tears falling quickly down her face.

"Kai…" Sasuke said quietly. He didn't know how to respond. Kai shook her head.

"No, you'll never understand. You're only worried about killing Itachi. Did you ever think for a minute how I feel? I don't share your views, Sasuke. I'm only here for you! I'm tortured, EVERY day I stay here. There's no end goal here for me. You're here to get stronger. I'm just here because I know what he wants from you. I don't even know why he acts like he cares about me sometimes. I'm only still around because he's using me to get to you!" Kai stopped talking, her mouth closing suddenly. Sasuke looked hurt, and Kai felt better, telling him off.

Sasuke went to say something in return, but stopped. His face hardened slightly. Kai turned and limped away. She didn't even bother stopping to see if Kabuto was around. She went straight to her room, slammed the door, and threw herself on the bed. She sobbed until the pillow was soaked.


	21. Chapter 21

_Laughter rang through the air. A snap of a twig behind Kai made her turn around. The shapes, much smaller than her, ran past. "I'll get you, Rain Ninja!" one of them cried. Small children. Kai recognized them._

 _Another twig snapped. Kai turned the other way. The scene shifted to a room. Two bodies laid on the floor in front of her, covered in blood. "No... " Kai shook her head, stepping back. "No no no." She looked up, the all to familiar eyes of the one she used to trust stared at her. Their red sharingan digging into her soul. "No… Father, Mother, no no no." Kai held her head, falling to her knees._

" _You're weak." The eyes spoke to her. They came forward, engulfing her and turning everything red, then black._

Kai startled awake, gasping for air. Sweat covered her body. She hadn't changed, nor had she showered. Remembering Orochimaru wanted her in the lab, she looked at the time. It was already after eight.

"Shit." Kai mumbled, getting up and running into the bathroom. She didn't bother showering, just washed her hands, face, and arms. She wasn't sure what Orochimaru was going to do, but she wanted to make sure there was little chance of infection.

Running out the door and into the hall, she followed her instinct to where the Lab would be. A few doors down from Kabuto's room was where it usually was. She was correct, when she opened the door. Orochimaru was standing there, expectantly.

"I was beginning to believe you had left again." He said.

"S-sorry." Kai bowed slightly. Excuses were pointless at this point.

"Go sit." Orochimaru waved towards the table. Kai walked over and sat, her legs hanging off the edge. Her body still ached, but her mind was more focused after sleeping. Orochimaru fiddled with something on the desk before walking over. Kai turned away, biting her lip.

Orochimaru smirked. He had done her in, it seemed. He only needed some blood samples from her. A tray of four empty needles sat next to him. He took her wrist aggressively and began to draw blood from her arm. Kai, refusing to look, whimpered slightly. She had squeezed her eyes shut, knowing if she looked she'd panic.

Not dragging it out, Orochimaru filled the four needles quickly. He handed Kai a cotton ball to set on her arm to stop the bleeding and walked away. Kai felt sick, but she held the cotton ball over where Orochimaru had drawn blood.

"You can go." Orochimaru said, placing the precious vials into a fridge. Kai blinked.

"Ok…" She said quietly, getting down from the table. She walked towards the door. Stopping, she waited for him to say something else. When he didn't speak, she opened the door and left.

Her eyes were heavy again as she made her way back to her room. Stopping to care for Curse, she headed into bed. It was getting close to ten now. Kai managed to change before laying back down on her bed. Her eyes closed when her head hit the pillow, and she was out.

"Watch your feet, Kai."

Kai hissed as she stumbled back, pushing her sword against Orochimaru's. He insisted on one to one training. Saying Kai needed to 'catch up'.

Grunting, she pushed hard back on to Orochimaru, digging her feet into the ground. Once he was back far enough she leapt into the air and came down on his sword as he blocked her.

"If you're going to pull this move," he slid his sword away from Kai's, and swung it at her waist. "Have a block set up."

"Ah!" Kai yelled. Not thinking, she grabbed the sword with her bare hand. Landing, she managed to push to sword down to the ground. Her sword clambered next to her as she held Orochimaru's sword with both hands. Blood dripped down the blade.

"That's enough." Orochimaru said. Kai let go as he pulled the sword away. Her hands shook as she observed them for injury. "Wrap your hands and we'll start again later. Your brother will join us."

"Oh boy, the prodigy." Kai muttered. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"What was that, child?" He hissed.

"Nothing." Kai picked up her sword and walked out of the field.

It had been a week. Kai was avoiding Sasuke. After the two had argued, they had barely talked. Her heart ached. She wanted her brother back.

She held her hands above her heart as she walked. The blood flow slowed, but she still dropped some on her way to her room.

Using her elbow, she opened the door and walked straight to the bathroom. She ran warm water and began rinsing the blood from her hands. The wounds were deep, but not threatening. Sighing, she reached in the cupboard for antibacterial rinse. Wincing as she splashed it on each hand, she reached for a towel. Holding one hand, she used the better one to grab the wrap.

Wrapping it was a process, but she didn't mind. It was peace and quiet for her to focus on herself. What was Naruto doing right now? Was Kakashi mad at her? Would Tsunade ever forgive her?

Orochimaru had taken her summoning privileges away. He threatened to kill her if he found her sending Yori out again. At this point, Kai didn't find death unappealing.

A knock at her door broke her out of focus. She forgot it was open. Looking up she saw Kabuto standing there. "Hey." She whispered, scooting over on her bed. Kabuto came in and sat.

"Rough day of training?" He asked.

"As usual." Kai sighed. With her hands wrapped, she leaned her head on Kabuto. His presence calmed her.

"I know you're not going to want to hear this Kai, but you need to talk to your brother." Kabuto looked at her. Kai sat up, looking at him.

"Why? He doesn't care about anything but his stupid goal of killing our brother."

"He's beating himself up over this Kai." Kabuto looked towards the door, making sure no one was listening. "Every night I see him walking by your room. He always hesitates. He stands there for minutes, pondering if he should talk to you. He always walks away." Kai looked down, away from Kabuto. "He misses you Kai."

"Well he must not miss me that much." She grabbed her sword and stood, facing the door. "I need to get back."

"Kai-"

"Please, let me and him figure this out. Don't butt in." Kai said, walking out. Kabuto sighed. They were too stubborn for their own good.


	22. Chapter 22

_Left, up, down, left, right, down…_

"Focus, Kai." Orochimaru spoke.

" _What the fuck do you think I'm doing?_ " Kai thought, glaring at him, before blocking Sasuke's next attack. They hadn't spoke, only fought. She could feel how upset he was. She only hoped Orochimaru didn't pick up on it.

"Alright that's enough." Orochimaru called out again. They had been at this for more than an hour. Kai let herself sit down, breathing just slightly heavy. "Sasuke, teach Kai. Whatever you want, just help her learn something new. I'll leave you two to it."

Of course. Kai knew what was coming in the near future. She saw how weakened Orochimaru was getting. He trained with them less and observed more. She picked up her sword and stood. Orochimaru walked away, not saying another word.

"So what did you want to learn." Sasuke said, looking at Kai. His face was blank.

"I don't want to learn anything." Kai muttered. She turned away.

"Kai can we please stop this?" Sasuke's face broke its hold, showing the pain and regret.

Kai looked up. His eyes made her heart ache. She wanted her brother back. Not this, whatever it was. "I don't want to lose you." She blurted out.

"What?" Sasuke was taken aback.

"You know what's coming… every day he looks at you more and more as his next vessel. Sasuke I can't lose you. You're all I have." Kai wiped away a tear falling from her eye.

"Nothing's going to happen Kai." Sasuke said strongly. Kai was surprised. "You know I'd never let him get his hands on me."

"I know, but then I'm afraid what will happen to him. To Kabuto. Nii-San I love him. I don't know what he'd do without Otou-San."

"It'll be fine." Sasuke said. He didn't mention Kabuto or Orochimaru. He already had plans to kill Orochimaru. Kai would never let him, so he kept quiet.

"Okay…" Kai took a deep breath, gathering herself. She looked at Sasuke's sword. "So how do you do the sword chidori thing?" Sasuke smiled. They trained the rest of the day.

That night Kai went to Kabuto's room. "Kabuto?" She knocked. The shower was running but he still heard her.

"Come in."

Kai walked in and sat on his bed. His scent was calming. Eventually, Kabuto came out, his lower half wrapped in a towel.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Kai sighed, clenching the blankets. Kabuto seemed to realize. "Kai…"

"Don't." Kai said through her gritted teeth. "Don't console me because nothing you say will work."

"I know." Kabuto said, walking closer to her. She turned her head from him. She wanted to be angry, upset even. Yet his body was turning her on, easing her mind.

"Kabuto-" He broke off her words with a kiss. It was full of passion. When he backed off, she stared at him breathless. "We shouldn't."

Kai awoke in the morning in his empty bed. Sighing, she got up and got dressed. Her anger returned, now that her brain was no longer distracted. She headed outside. There was a waterfall there, and tree that had fallen and been cut into large chunks.

She spent the next few hours kicking the chunks into the air and then kicking them apart. She was left now with pieces. "It seems you trained with Tsunade while you were away." A voice called. It was slick, and evil.

Kai didn't answer him. She didn't train with Tsunade, Sakura had taught her some of the things when her training slowed. Kai kicked up another chunk and kicked it, breaking it into pieces.

"Something bothering you?" Orochimaru asked. He smirked. He knew, very well, that he hit a nerve. Kai knew what was coming. She knew that she was helpless to stop him.

Kai had kicked up another piece when he spoke. She swung her leg, kicking the chunk towards Orochimaru. He vanished, leaving the chunk to hit the wall and shatter. He appeared behind Kai.

"Fuck off." Kai growled, not turning around.

"Such strong words." Orochimaru chuckled. "Will you stay with me? Or will you run back to the Leaf?" He walked around to the front of her. "There will be nothing left for you."

"I said fuck off." Kai yelled, throwing a punch. He grabbed her hand, pushing her arm back. She yelped in pain.

"Watch your mouth around your elders. You know better." Orochimaru let go, and started walking away. "It won't be long now."

Kai collapsed to her knees, shaking. Why would he do that to her? Sasuke had said he had a plan. What would his plan be? Could he convince someone to go in as a clone? Orochimaru would see through that. What if Sasuke failed?

A familiar nicker sounded nearby and Kai opened her hands. Hoofbeats sounded across the ground as Curse pushed his head into her hands. Kai grabbed him tightly as he pulled her up. "Hey buddy." He nudged her in response. "Let's go get you cleaned up."


	23. Chapter 23

Smoke drifted up from the water. Kai let her body sink below the steam. Curse stood nearby, her clothes hanging on the tree limb above him. The hot spring was tiny and secluded, but it was enough for Kai. The days events played in her mind. Staring at the sky, she wondered. Fear clawed at her heart, and had been the past two weeks. Kabuto was being distant, and hadn't been around the last week. A mission, was all she had been told. A little boy was with him. Yukimaru, was his name. He seemed so innocent…

"Kai?" A voice called. Kai jumped, until she realized who it was.

"Nii-san?"

"Are you alright if I come in?" Sasuke stood by a bush, a towel around his waist. His clothes hung on his arms.

"Yeah…" Kai scooted, and turned allowing Sasuke privacy to get into the hotspring as well. He sighed, relaxing. Kai looked at him curiously as he closed his eyes.

"Did you know about this hot spring?"

"Yeah." He answered.

"You didn't tell me about it?" Kai glared playfully. Sasuke opened one eye, glancing at her.

"I figured you'd find it eventually."

"You jerk." Kai splashed him. Sasuke put his arms up, splashing back. Kai laughed, and for once saw a true smile on Sasuke's face. The fear around her heart calmed, even for a moment. They settled down, leaving Kai sad again.

"Kai, if something were to happen, would you be willing to leave, with me?" Sasuke said, breaking the silence. Kai tilted her head at him.

"I mean, you're my brother… why wouldn't I?" She asked. Her heart picked up it's pace, making her more aware of her breathing.

"You'd leave Kabuto and Orochimaru? With me?" He asked again, looking at her now. Kai bit her lip, closing her eyes. Taking a deep breath and letting it out with a sigh, she met his eyes.

"Yes."

"Good." Sasuke got up, quickly putting his towel around him.

"Nii-san-"

Sasuke waved his hand and disappeared into the bushes. Kai hit the water and muttered. Curse snorted, stepping close to the water. Kai reached out and let him help pull her out of the water as she stood behind him to dry off. There was nothing else to do but wait and train.

Once she was dressed, she went back to the hideout. It was quiet, Kai assumed Sasuke was sleeping or something. Her feet led her through the hideout, stopping in front of the door that lead to the training room. She pushed the door open mindlessly.

This room was smaller, more compact, than the areas they usually trained. It had a few dummies, set up so you could practice attacking multiple attackers at once. Kai set her bag down and stood in the middle. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

The sound of her fist hitting the wood, the sound of the spinning metal. It pleased her. All her anger and anxiety was taken out on the wood figures. She continued until she collapsed, hours later. Breathing hard, she finally opened her eyes.

She gasped at the destruction. It was normal to replace these, but Kai had flung pieces across the room. Moving to sit after catching her breath, she continued taking in what she had done. Was this what happened when she was angry? The aching in her shoulder had come back.


	24. Chapter 24

Kabuto came back. He was so busy with Orochimaru that he hadn't seen her more than once. Kai sighed, absentmindedly throwing another kunai at the tree in front of her. Curse stood in the distance, grazing peacefully. Kai glanced back at the hole in the ground, where they were staying. She didn't want to go back down. Every time she woke up in the morning, she worried about Sasuke, worried if she had lost her brother. She walked to his room and found him asleep, peacefully and unharmed, each time.

She thought for a while she may have been overreacting. Then she happened to walk past Orochimaru's room and hear him coughing. It was close to that day, she knew. Throwing another kunai, she hissed at the clang of metal hitting metal. Looking up, she realized how she was hitting the same spot, over and over again.

"Huh, I couldn't repeat that if I tried." She muttered, throwing another Kunai. It landed inches to the side. Sasuke and Itachi were pros at this. She couldn't do it near as well. Kai wanted to go home, back to the Leaf Village. The past was behind her though, they couldn't ever go back, not after what she did.

A mother weasel caught a mouse in front of her. She smiled faintly, then sighed, pulling herself closer in on herself. As much as she knew she should go back to her room, she was afraid. Walking back down there would bring her back to Sasuke and Orochimaru. Breathing out, she grabbed her bag and slid down the hole, landing neatly before walking to her room.

As soon as she sat down she felt it. The chakra, the chaos. "No, no… not yet." She held her head. The outcome, she knew, it wouldn't be good either way. Either she would lose her brother or she would lose her teacher, the one she called Otou-san.

"Why am I so concerned about losing him when he did awful things to me?" Kai groaned, beating her pillow. Either way, she had to get her things together, and now. Drawers ripped out from the dressers as she gathered what few clothes she had. Her stuffed horse, Ita, already in her bag. The last remaining Kunai she had left in her room stuffed in the side pouch. What few scrolls she had stuffed in the pockets of the bag. Mostly for things she couldn't fit in her bag, like the windmill shuriken. Her sword laid against the bed and she clicked it on her back.

"Oh God, Kabuto." Kai groaned and left the room, one last time. If she lost her brother, she was leaving to find Itachi. If she lost Orochimaru, then she would be leaving with Sasuke, and more than likely on the hunt for Itachi. Kabuto would be a lost memory, at least in Sasuke's eyes. Kai bit her lip. She'd have to talk to Kabuto.

If he hadn't been gone on that stupid mission, then Kai might have been able to talk to him. Yet he was gone, and Kai rarely saw him. He'd be tending to Orochimaru right now but she wasn't sure if he was even in the same room. She stopped. Why would she willingly walk into the fight against Orochimaru? Wouldn't it be better to leave now, then meet him outside?

Kabuto.

No, she would wait in here. As soon as the chaos stopped, she'd run there. Kabuto would be there, and if he wasn't, she'd break the news to him herself. Her shoulder ached horrendously.

Kai gasped when she felt it. Orochimaru's chakra was gone. She covered her mouth, holding back her sobs. She had to go, now. She pushed herself away from the wall she took to leaning on and walked quickly to Orochimaru's room.

She reached the hallway and saw Kabuto standing there, not moving. "Kabuto…?" She asked. He didn't respond. She walked closer, quieter. "Kabu-nii?"

"Lord Orochimaru is dead." He said. It was a whisper.

"Kabuto-"

"He's dead, and it's YOUR FAULT!" Kabuto turned, his rage coming off of him.

"Kabuto I-"

"Your brother killed him! If you would have never come here…" He hit a wall.

"Kabuto please listen-"

"Leave."

"Kabuto…?"

"Leave. Now. I want nothing to do with you. Go follow your brother like you always do."

"After everything…" Kai held back a sob. "Kabuto please just-"

"No." Kabuto turned to look at Kai. He was upset, it was obvious. "Leave now."

Kai held her arms to her chest. Tears streamed down her face but she bit her lip anyway. Turning, she took off, towards Sasuke's chakra. She met him outside.

"Ready?" He asked, not mentioning her tear streaked face. Kai wiped it quickly, noticing the new chakra around them. Suigetsu, wasn't it?

"Y-yeah." She muttered. Cupping her hands together she called for Curse, who appeared quickly.

"When you said there would be others, you didn't mention your sister." Suigetsu said, appearing out a puddle in the ground. Kai glanced at Sasuke.

"I assumed it was a given that she would be coming." He said. He didn't look at Kai. Kai looked away.

"We're headed to another hideout." He explained to her. "We're adding Jugo and Karin to the team."

"Team?"

"Yes, team." Sasuke said, and started walking.

Kai took one last look at the hideout beneath her. A whole part of her life was with them. A major part. She stepped forward, turning to face Sasuke.

Following her brother, like she always does.


	25. Chapter 25

Kai walked quietly behind Sasuke, holding Curse on a leadrope she grabbed out of the hideout before they left. Suigetsu splashed around in a puddle in front of them.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you, it was your squad, wasn't it?" He said, bringing himself out of the water. Kai wished he'd put some clothes on. "You were the ones who brought down my predecessor, Zabuza Momochi, weren't you?" He started laps in the puddle, which was the size of a small pond.

"So tell me, whatever happened to his sword, the Executioner's blade?" Suigetsu asked. Kai and Sasuke stood quietly. Kai hadn't spoke since they left, but finally was able to keep herself from sniffling. "What, cat got your tongues? Come on," Suigetsu swam closer to them "You tell me where the blade is, and once I get my hands on it, I'll agree to join your team."

Sasuke started walking again, and Kai scrambled to catch up to him. "Get dressed." He called to Suigetsu.

They traveled back to where Team 7 shared their first big mission. Kai glanced around nervously, feeling out of place. Curse walked behind her, getting looks from some of the people around them. They stopped in front of a bridge. Sasuke was looking up, reading it. Kai glanced up.

"Hm, the Great Naruto Bridge. Wow, what a weird name." Suigetsu walked up next to Sasuke. He took a sip of his water and turned to Sasuke. "Say, did Master Zabuza put up a good fight?" Sasuke glanced at Kai. She looked down, remembering how that was when they activated their sharingan. She wasn't sure if it was a good fight or if they were just that weak.

"What's the matter Sasuke? Sasuke-"

"Nothing's the matter." Sasuke started walking forward. "Let's go."

They walked to the top of a hill, where they had buried Zabuza and Haku together. Kai held her hands together close to her chest, closing her eyes in respect for a moment. Suigetsu stood in front of the wooden crosses.

"It's not here. Sasuke, are you sure this is the right place?" Suigetsu turned, looking at him.

"I am."

"Well it's not here, so what's the deal?" Suigetsu put his arms out.

"I don't know." Sasuke said. Kai kicked at a rock on the ground.

"It's been over three years. Someone probably took it." She said. Suigetsu turned to her.

"Well look at that, she speaks." He said, grinning. "I can't believe you were that upset-  
"Fuck off." Kai growled, glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't realize you had a violent side, you were always so obedient."

"I said fuck off!" Kai threw a punch at him, only to be stopped by Sasuke. Suigetsu laughed but Sasuke turned and looked at him first, making him be quiet.

"Suigetsu, leave her alone."

Suigetsu watched Sasuke carefully, before putting his hands up in defeat. "Whatever." He turned and started walking. "Since Master Zabuza's blade is gone, so is any chance of me joining your team."

Curse snorted as Kai muttered "good", only to receive a glare from Sasuke. She glared back. He put her hand down and followed Suigetsu. Kai cursed under her breath and followed, pulling Curse's lead rope as he followed behind her.

They walked on the bridge, Kai following behind as Sasuke and Suigetsu walked in front of her.

"What are you going to do?" Sasuke asked.

"What else can I d? I'm going to look for the sword." Suigetsu said. The blade of the seven swordsmen of the mist was passed down from generation to generation. That's the tradition. I was all set to become one of those swordsmen. That's what I was training for. So it only makes sense that if Master Zabuza is gone, I'm the only one who should inherit his executioner's blade." A stranger bumped into him, and Kai stopped. "Why don't you watch where you're walking, idiot." He reached out his hand but Sasuke grabbed his wrist and stood in front of him. The man, with gray hair and a purple hat, turned.

"Hm. What you got a problem, buddy?" He turned, leaning forward. "Want to make something of it?"

Sasuke turned, glaring at him. Curse snorted and stomped his hoof at the stranger. The man stepped back and turned around, muttering something. "Just watch it." He said, and mumbled as he walked away: "This place is crawling with idiots."

"Man, you are way nicer than I am. So, it looks like you owe me for not starting trouble. How we gonna settle up?" Suigetsu said. Kai glared at him.

They walked to a small yogurt shop where the waitresses stared at Sasuke and Kai glared at them and Suigetsu. Curse was waiting outside patiently and Kai checked back over her shoulder occasionally.

"Hm, oh- man this yogurt is so great. It's been ages since I've had anything this good. I was locked in that tank for way too long."

"Is that why you're wasting my time now?" Sasuke asked.

"How should I put this, your the one in such a hurry, not me." He said, waving a spoon at Sasuke. Kai spun her spoon in her yogurt, barely listening. She stared at the swirls absentmindedly. She glanced up to Suigetsu looking at her. "You gonna eat that?" He said, pointing at her yogurt.

"Hmph." Kai muttered, pulling the yogurt closer and taking a bite. She galred only for Suigetsu to glare back.

Suigetsu turned back to Sasuke. "So why are you gathering all of us together anyway?"

"I'll tell you when we've all assembled."

Suigetsu thought about it. "All right, let's go conquer the world! You're not gonna say something like that, are you?"

"Do that on your own time." Sasuke muttered. "I'm aiming for something much bigger." Kai glanced at Sasuke when he said this. He didn't look at her. Suigetsu sighed.

"If anyone else started saying that, I wouldn't believe it for a second… but with you… I think maybe it's possible. And that's the strange thing."

 _The only strange thing around here is you, asshole._ Kai thought, going back to swirling her yogurt. The waitress came up, holding another yogurt on a tray.

"The Great Naruto Bridge, was it? Ever heard of a large blade near that bridge?" Suigetsu asked her. She hesitated.

"Well.. oh, maybe there was…" She looked at Sasuke and got more tense. Kai thought about acting like her and Sasuke were a thing so the girls would stop looking at him like they did but she decided otherwise. "What about it?"

Suigetsu leaned closer. "He's looking for that blade." He said, pointing with the spoon and grabbing the yogurt from the tray. As soon as those words came out the girl panicked.

"Huh?! S-Someone might know about it! I'll go ask!" With one last squeal she ran back to the other girls. Screaming could be heard in the back.

"You're quite the ladies' man, eh?" Suigetsu said. Kai huffed and Sasuke glanced at her. A warning to straighten up. Kai turned away and finished her yogurt. The girls all came running back and swarmed Sasuke, which made Kai scoot closer to the wall.

"I know!"

"Tazuna…"

"Who lives by the riverside…"

"...would know!"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment. Kai let her self relax slightly. Tazuna? The old drunk was still alive? Then again, he had a change of heart once they had gotten back. She looked at Sasuke. "Nii-san?"

"Let's go." He said, getting up and setting down some money. Kai glared at the girls, who stepped back to let him through. Over their excitement Kai heard a few say good luck. If only they knew.

They reached Tazuna's house pretty quickly. Kai left Curse nearby and scurried up the bridge leading to the house.

"Who is this Tazuna?" Suigetsu asked.

"The carpenter boss who built that bridge." He said. They reached the house and Kai stayed back, letting Sasuke and Suigetsu do the talking. She watched the fish swim below the wood.

"The boss isn't here right now." The man said as he sawed at a piece of wood.

"Do you know where he went?" Suigetsu asked, hands over his head. Part of him wanted to push Kai in the water. He refrained.

"To the Land of Lightning to build a bridge. He took Inari with him." Kai looked up, hearing about Inari. That little squirt was probably growing up pretty quickly, huh? "He won't be back for another year."

"The land of lightning, eh? That's pretty far." Suigetsu said, looking at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't answer.

"Do you know of a large blade that was left near the Great Naruto Bridge?" He asked.

"Oh, that." The man wiped his face of the sweat and Kai realized just how warm is was getting. "Tenzen Daikoku took it. He originally came here to capture the ninja who wielded the blade." Kai scoffed, getting a glare from Suigetsu. She narrowed her eyes back and stood up, stepping away from the water. "But after learning the ninja was dead, he took the blade with him instead."

"Arigatou." Kai said, bowing. The man smiled.

"No problem." He went back to work and the three walked back off into town. Kai led Curse on the lead rope once more.

"Damn it, Tenzen Daikoku, eh?" Suigetsu said. "He was the aide to the lord of the Land of Water. Apparently, many of his men were killed during Zabuza Senpai's coup d'etat in the Hidden Mist. I guess he had a grudge from back then." Suigetsu finished as the same man from before bumped into him. Kai stopped, partly blocking the man's path. Curse snorted, as Suigetsu and Sasuke turned.

"Where the hell do you think you're-?!" The man started but stopped. People around them watched.

"Hey, we were just looking for you." Suigetsu said. The man went to run but Suigetsu grabbed him by the collar and they quickly took him into an ally way. Kai stood on watch, rubbing down some sweat off of Curse and checking the saddle bags she had picked up. She ignored the commotion behind her.

Eventually, Sasuke and Suigetsu walked out. "Let's go." Sasuke said, motioning for Kai to follow. Kai nodded and followed behind them until they reached the forest with a castle building. There they waited until dark. Sasuke got up and went to head in. Kai got up as well.

"No, you stay with Suigetsu."

"But-" Kai started but Sasuke was gone. Kai crossed her arms and stood away from suigetsu, who snickered in the corner.

"What's the matter, big brother not letting you tag along anymore?"

Kai waved her middle finger at him, before moving where he couldn't see her. He laughed before leaning back and waiting.

The next morning they stood watching as hundreds of men rode into the castle.

"What's going on?" Suigetsu said. Kai turned to make sure Curse was okay as he stood grazing in the treeline behind them.

"It seems another powerful clan plans to attack Tenzen's castle tomorrow." Sasuke said, walking up. "With an army that numbers in the tens of thousands."

"Oh… is that true?" Suigetsu said, rubbing his head. "Oh well, whatever. The more confused the enemy becomes, the better my chances. Be it several thousand or tens of thousands, it doesn't matter to a Ninja like me. I'll sneak in tonight and take the Executioner's Blade."

"How about making a wager?" Sasuke said. Kai looked up, confused.

"A wager?"

"On who gets the Executioner's Blade first."

"Huh? I never expected you to have a playful side!" Suigetsu grinned. Kai gave Sasuke a questioning look. "Let's do it. Sounds like fun."

"Then it starts now." Sasuke said. "Kai, with me."

"Hey, isn't that a bit unfair?" Suigetsu cried. Kai walked over next to Sasuke.

"If you're the tough ninja you say you are then it won't make a difference." She said, sticking her tounge out. Suigetsu glared in response.

"Oh, there's only one rule. We don't kill anyone." Sasuke added, before disappearing. Kai followed suit.

"Oh come on." Suigetsu muttered. "They're too nice." He disappeared as well.

They appeared in the middle of the horses, surrounding themselves. Kai looked at all the horses, her back to Sasuke's.

"No killing, including the horses." She said quietly. He didn't answer. One of the men spoke up, maybe the leader.

"Who the hell are you? You're suspicious!" He said and charged the two. They dodged, Sasuke jumping in the air and kicking the man while Kai made quick work of the saddle and bridle. The horse took off, leaving the man on the ground. The two took out all the men before being joined by Suigetsu and walking into the castle.

"You really mean now then, huh?" Suigetsu muttered.

As they walked closer, wooden objects flew out at them. Kai glanced at Sasuke as he used a quick fireball jutsu to get rid of them.

"Gotta hand it to you, Sasuke!" Suigetsu said. By the time the fireball was gone, so were the siblings. "What the-? He's gone?!"

"Nii-san, why did you make a wager?" Kai asked as they stood in a tree watching Suigetsu fight the men who charged out.

"I have my reasons." Sasuke said, and Kai took that as a sign that it wasn't her business.

They made their way into the castle, walking up the stairs where Kai noticed a big man was holding the Blade and another man was standing there looking terrified.

"You're the one from yesterday!" The man said, looking at Sasuke. "He's the one! He's the one who kill Mr. Zabuza!"

"Pointing fingers awfully quick." Kai muttered.

"All I did was bring the blade back from the grave!"

Suigetsu laughed, turning to the man after looking at Sasuke. "I'll give you some points for that. That's a pretty good lie for a villain like you to come up with."

"Suigetsu." Sasuke said, tossing him a water bottle.

"How thoughtful. I was feeling a bit dehydrated." Suigetsu said, taking a drink. Kai rolled her eyes. It wasn't thoughtful because they cared. "I think you're under the wrong impression here. I wasn't particularly close to Mr. Zabuza."

"But the thought of the senpai from my village," Suigetsu tossed the man who was holding the blade out the window. "Having such pathetic rumors about losing to weaklings like you is, you know?" Suigetsu held the blade to the man's head. Kai went to step forward but Sasuke stopped her.

"D-do you think you can get away with this?" The man cried.

"Well, you'll have to pay for this…right? I think I'll test this on you." Suigetsu put the blade closer.

"Forget it." Sasuke spoke up. "What's the sense in killing someone like him?"

Suigetsu smiled, waved the blade over the man's head, and cut the four main pillars.

"I've cut through the main pillars, so you'd better get out of here. I'll spare your life." Suigetsu walked towards Sasuke. "Out of respect for you, Sasuke."

As they walked away, the man spoke again. "Sasuke…? That's… Sasuke who killed Orochimaru?!" He cried. Kai flinched hard, stopping. Sasuke moved his hand. Kai noticed and walked forward again, clenching her fist tightly.

"Say, you're famous. They know your name even around here." Suigetsu said. Kai held her head down as the castle collapsed behind them. Something about being a rogue ninja, not following any rules, felt weird to her. They stopped back to grab Curse and began walking to their next place. Kai kept quiet and ignored Suigetsu as they got closer. She had a faint idea on who would be next, and she wasn't excited about this one either.

God, she wanted Kabuto…


	26. Chapter 26

Kai stepped nervously onto the water. She glanced back at Curse, who snorted and stood patiently waiting. She walked up to Sasuke and whispered to him.

"Can't we just ride Daichi?" She said, glancing down at the water. She loved the water but something made her feel weird walking across this.

"No, it's just ahead." Sasuke said, not looking at her. She sighed and walked behind him. He was right, it was just up ahead.

When her feet hit the solid land she relaxed. They walked into a cave, which Kai didn't quite remember, she wondered if this was a hideout that Orochimaru went to after she was gone. They walked out the other way, leading to an opening where a door sat underneath an overhang in the distance.

"I can't believe how little security there is at this hideout." Suigetsu said, looking around. "They should at least build a fence or something."

"She has this place under complete control." Sasuke said. "There's no need for anything else."

"Still, it's too quiet here. I don't like it. It's making me start to wonder if word of Orochimaru's death has reached her already."

As they kept walking, they noticed mounds next to them.

"They're fresh…" Kai mumbled. The dirt had yet to settle. It was big enough for a person. Kai looked at Sasuke. He didn't say anything.

They reached the door and Sasuke looked at Suigetsu. Kai raised an eyebrow to see what he would do.

"What?" Suigetsu said. Sasuke made a nod to the door. "Uh. you guys have swords too,

you know, Sasuke…"

"Yours is bigger, moron." Kai said, pushing Suigetsu from behind. He turned and glared. "Than either of ours."

"Big enough to cut you down then too, no?" Suigetsu said, reaching for the blade.

"Suigetsu, Kai, enough." Sasuke said. Kai glared and Suigetsu sighed, grunting as he pulled the sword out and began slitting the door open until it burst into pieces. They walked in over the rubble and looked around. It was quiet. A jail cell sat ahead of them.

"Don't look at them." Sasuke said to Kai as they neared. Kai looked down at the ground. She had a bad habit of that. They walked by, and Kai tried to forget that there were people in there.

They stopped part way down the hall, and Kai had a remembrance of who exactly this was and where they were. She'd been here, a very long time ago. The red haired girl stood in front of them, a hand on her hips.

"I knew it was you, Sasuke." She said. Kai narrowed her eyes, unsure of how she felt about this person now. Before, Kai was too busy looking around and trying to avoid getting yelled at by Orochimaru. She'd only been here once because he refused to bring her back.

"Sasuke, if you're here by yourself, then that must mean the rumors about Orochimaru's death are true."

"Hello, I'm standing right next to him, you know." Suigetsu said. Kai elbowed him.

"She means without Orochimaru." Kai said. Suigetsu glared but didn't say anything.

"Well, why have you come here, Sasuke?" She said. Kai noticed that she was being left out of this conversation too. Rude.

"Sasuke came here because he wants to talk to you." Suigetsu said. Kai noted that he was also being rude. "But we don't want to stand and talk, so take us to a room where we can sit, okay? I'm tired." Suigetsu walked in front of Sasuke. "I haven't walked this far in a long time."

Karin leaned to the side. "You wanna talk? Talk, Sasuke."

"I said, we don't want to do this out here in the hall, so just take us inside, right now." Suigetsu said, getting close to Karin. Kai looked at Sasuke, who was observant. "Don't think I don't know that you're just trying to ignore me here, Karin."

"Hmph." Karin turned her head, then sniffed Suigetsu. "You're unpleasant."

"You're not so pleasant, yourself!" Suigetsu answered.

Sasuke stepped forward and in between them. "Listen, just knock it off, Karin. Take us to a room, now."

Karin turned her gaze away from Suigetsu and nodded. "Alright, come on."

"This is going to be a fun group." Kai said, more to herself as she followed Sasuke. He glanced back and glared at her, which made her shrink. "Sorry." She grumbled.

The room had a couch, and Kai took to sitting on Sasuke's right side. She left enough space between them for breathing room. She pulled her legs up underneath her.

"Karin, come with me." Sasuke said. "I need you on my team."

"Oh really, why would I go with you?" Karin said. "I have responsibilities, I run this place."

"Orochimaru is gone now."

"So? There's still a lot of prisoners here."

"Speaking of which." Suigetsu interrupted. "They were awfully quiet when we walked by them. They must know that Orochimaru is dead. That news had to have reached here by now."

Karin was quiet as she turned to look at Sasuke. "I've noticed that the number of prisoners is slightly smaller than it was the last time I was here. When we came in, I also saw signs of recent digging in the grounds near the front of the entrance to this hideout." He paused. "Karin, I know that you possess a razor-sharp intellect, and that you're an expert at controlling information."

"Of course, rumors of Orochimaru's death started circulating among the prisoners. So to keep them from staging a riot and trying to escape, you put some sort of plan in place. Isn't that right?" Suigetsu said, looking at Karin. Kai was quiet, watching the interactions. She really wanted to sleep. She let her mind drift off, completely missing the conversation.

"Suigetsu, Kai, I want you to go out there and release everyone who's being held prisoner here."

"Huh?" Kai said, coming back to reality. "Release the prisoners? Are you sure?"

"You and that commanding tone again." Suigetsu sighed, standing up.

"You can't just come here and take over! You have no idea what I went through to maintain order!" Karin protested.

"Look, it's simple." Sasuke said. "Without prisoners, there's no need for a warden. I'll ask you once more. Come with me. Join me, Karin."

She stared at him, and Kai awkwardly stood up.

"So what'll it be?" Sasuke asked.

"Well this is entertaining, but I'm going to release the prisoners now." Suigetsu grabbed his sword and started walking out. Kai glanced at Sasuke and went ahead out the door. Suigetsu followed behind her.

Kai didn't wait for Suigetsu. She walked down to the jail cell and looked inside.

"Hey, it's the Uchiha girl!" One man said. She kneeled down.

"Yeah, hold on someone else is coming. We'll explain here in a minute." She said, waiting on Suigetsu.

"Oh, you waited on me?"

"It won't happen again."

"Heh." He turned to the crowd. "Orochimaru is dead."

"I knew it! So the rumors are true." The main guy said. "Sasuke defeated Orochimaru." He glanced at Kai. She just nodded.

"So what's going to happen to us, now?"

"You're free." Kai said, holding up the key.

"Wait really?" The man said. Kai unlocked the lock.

"I do have a favor to ask of you guys." Suigetsu said. "Tell everyone that Sasuke defeated Orochimaru and freed you all."

"Of course!" The man said. Kai glared at Suigetsu but didn't speak. She opened the door.

"Go back home, to your families and friends." Kai said as they started walking out. Suigetsu got up and walked back to the room. Kai waited till he was gone.

"There's a black horse to the south of here. No one touches him, understood? Or I will find you and I will kill you." Kai glared. The group nodded, a few gulping.

"Understood. We can't thank you enough." The leader of the prisoners said, before they all took off. Kai let out a sigh and looked at the jail cell. It was pitiful.

To think she lived a week in one of those. Shaking her head, she walked down to the door, seeing Suigetsu still standing there.

"What's the deal, can't open a door?"

"It's locked from the inside." Suigetsu said. Kai's expression changed.

"Really?"

"If you think I'm lying, try it yourself." Suigetsu stepped back as Kai tried the handle.

"You shitting me." Kai muttered. "I knew I didn't like her."

"Ah, you and me both." Suigetsu said. Kai turned and glared at him. He raised his arms in defense. Kai sat against the door.

"We'll wait then."

"You're not worried about your precious brother?"

"He can handle himself, as can I." Kai growled. "Now be quiet, I have a headache."

Suigetsu narrowed his eyes at her but didn't keep talking. She put her head on her knees and closed her eyes. God she wanted to sleep.

A crash made her jump, she saw Suigetsu standing at the now open doorway. She stood up quickly.

"Ah, I hope that didn't chip my blade." Suigetsu said, leaning on the sword. Kai poked her head in the doorway. "Come on, Sasuke, let's go. I assume Karin turned you down."

"Not quite, seems she's coming with us after all."

"What? Who said I'm coming?!" Karin exclaimed. "I just- I mean- I just happen to be going in the same direction as you, and that's it."

"Right, and pigs can fly." Kai muttered. Karin glared at her and Kai stuck her tongue out.

"Heh, well isn't that nice. Now we can travel part of the way together." Suigetsu said.

"That's right, only part of the way." Karin said, fixing her glasses.

"Alright then, let's go get Jugo." Suigetsu said.

"Hold on, you want Jugo to join the team?" Karin said. Kai sighed and went back into the hallway, making sure Sasuke saw her. She sat back down and closed her eyes. Her headache was getting worse. The last thing she wanted to hear was their bickering.

She looked up as they walked out, Sasuke tapped her on the head. She nodded, standing. He started walking and she followed. They walked out to where they came in and to the lake. Kai listened to the waves as she walked in between Suigetsu and Sasuke. Karin was on the other side and as much as she wanted to separate the two, she decided against it.

She turned, noticing the two behind her bickering. She rolled her eyes and watched the seagulls. The outside air was helping her headache.

 _A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I had a lot of pages uploaded recently and it occurred to me how badly formatted they are now after going from google docs to here. I apologize for that. The next upcoming chapters will bring more grief to Kai. I'm going to warn you now that there will more than likely be thoughts of suicide, so if that sort of stuff bothers you please either skip the chapter or whatever it takes to keep your mental healthy, well, healthy. By all means, I don't want Kai to be in that sort of a place but the more I write and the more I watch, the more I realize how much of a toll this is going to take on her. Sometimes the characters aren't controlled by the writer!_


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